(NEWARK, NJ) PSE&G crews have made significant gains in restoring power and repairing damage caused by Tuesday night’s violent storms. As of 8 p.m., PSE&G has restored power to 170,000 customers in hard hit North Jersey towns.

Approximately 60,000 customers are still without power, the bulk of whom are in Jersey City, Belleville, Newark, Bloomfield, Teaneck, Cliffside Park and Nutley.

While PSE&G expects to make considerable progress over the next 24 hours, the utility warns that it may take until Friday afternoon before power is completely restored and the its system is back to normal.

PSE&G crews worked throughout the night last night and will do the same again tonight to repair the extensive damage to power lines and equipment caused by heavy rains, high winds, lightning and felled trees.

The nature of the damage makes the work time and labor intensive. In many cases, trees need to be cleared before the utility can access its equipment and begin repairs.

PSE&G reminds customers to stay away from downed power lines. All power lines should be considered live. It is critical that people not approach or drive over the lines and avoid touching anything that may make contact with a downed wire.

PSE&G customers are asked to report power outages or downed power lines by calling 1-800-436-7734.

Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) is New Jersey’s oldest and largest regulated gas and electric delivery utility, serving nearly three-quarters of the state’s population. PSE&G has received the ReliabilityOne Award for superior electric system reliability in the Mid-Atlantic Region for the past six years. PSE&G is a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (PSEG) (NYSE:PEG), a diversified energy company (www.pseg.com).