PSEG Stops Gas, Electric Shut-Offs As NJ Copes With Coronavirus

NEWARK, NJ — PSE&G is giving financially struggling customers a break from electric or gas shut-offs as New Jersey continues to grapple with the novel coronavirus outbreak.

On Friday, PSE&G announced that “effective immediately,” it won’t be shutting off electric or gas service to residential customers for non-payment. The temporary policy change will last until “the end of April.” PSE&G plans to re-evaluate the situation at that point, company spokespeople said.

According to PSE&G, the decision is being made “in the interest of protecting public health” from the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19.

The company wrote:

“We recognize that customers may experience financial difficulty as a result of the outbreak, whether they or a family member fall ill, are required to quarantine, or because their income is otherwise affected. We hope to alleviate those customers’ concerns about their electric or gas service during this time. New Jersey residential customers experiencing financial difficulty as a result of issues related to the coronavirus should contact PSE&G by calling 1-800-357-2262 to enter into a deferred payment arrangement."

It’s not the first time the company has offered people a break during times of national crisis. During last year’s federal government shutdown, PSE&G gave affected workers a 60-day grace period to customers facing financial hardship.

• See related article: PSEG Cuts Unpaid Federal Workers Some Slack During Gov't Shutdown

CORONAVIRUS IN NEW JERSEY

Twenty-nine people have been diagnosed with presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 in New Jersey as of Thursday afternoon, with one person dying from the disease. Gov. Phil Murphy has declared a state of emergency, and schools across the state have begun to cancel classes. READ MORE: NJ Coronavirus Updates (Here's What You Need To Know)

In general — depending on where they live — New Jersey residents still face a “low risk” of contracting COVID-19, State Epidemiologist Christina Tan said during a Wednesday press conference.

There have been more than 1,250 confirmed U.S. cases of the new coronavirus as of Friday morning according to Johns Hopkins University, which said the disease also has killed 33 people nationwide.

New Jersey Coronavirus Updates: Don't miss local and statewide announcements about novel coronavirus precautions. Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters.

WHAT IS COVID-19?

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.

The disease, which apparently originated in animals, is now transferring from person to person, although the mechanism is not yet fully understood. Its symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, and many patients develop pneumonia. There is as yet no vaccine against COVID-19 it and no antiviral treatment.

According to the CDC, the best way of preventing the disease is to avoid close contact with people who are sick, to avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, to wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and to use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol if soap and water are not available.

To avoid spreading any respiratory illness, the CDC recommends staying at home when you are sick, covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throwing the tissue in the trash, cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.

The CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a face mask to protect themselves from respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19. You should only wear a mask if a health care professional recommends it. A face mask should be used by people who have COVID-19 and are showing symptoms. This is to protect others from the risk of getting infected. The use of face masks also is crucial for health workers and other people who are taking care of someone infected with COVID-19 in close settings (at home or in a health care facility).

Residents who have questions about the virus can contact the State of New Jersey's hotline at 1 (800) 222-1222. The hotline is home of the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System, and is staffed 24 hours a day by state health workers.

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