There comes a point when frustration gives way to outrage. Orange & Rockland has crossed that line.

Our neighborhood in Pomona, New York, lost power at approximately 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Yet the first Orange & Rockland representative did not arrive until Sunday afternoon, nearly twenty-four hours later. And even then, the only visible action was to close the road. It was only hours after that before utility crews finally began arriving. Meanwhile, families remained in dark homes, refrigerators warmed, food spoiled, and an entire community was left wondering when help would finally come.

As of this writing, power still has not been restored.

Instead of meaningful communication, customers have been subjected to an endless cycle of false hope. We receive text messages with estimated restoration times, only to watch each deadline pass before another notification arrives pushing the estimate back yet again. These are not updates; they are broken promises repeated over and over.

This outage has become far more than an inconvenience. It has disrupted lives and imposed significant financial and emotional hardship on countless families. With temperatures reaching dangerous levels, many residents have had no choice but to relocate their families to relatives’ homes. Others have been forced to spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on hotel rooms simply to escape the heat and provide a safe place for their children and elderly family members.

The consequences extend even further. Many homes in Pomona rely on sump pumps to keep basements dry. Those pumps typically have battery backups that last only a few hours. After that, without electricity, homeowners are left defenseless against rising water. As a result, some families are now dealing not only with prolonged power outages but also flooded basements and the costly property damage that follows.

The most infuriating part is that this decline in service comes as our electric bills continue to climb. Orange & Rockland has had no difficulty asking customers to pay more. Yet when those same customers need the company most, the response has been painfully slow, poorly communicated, and seemingly devoid of urgency.

At this point, the only thing residents have come to expect is another photo opportunity: elected officials posing in hard hats beside an Orange & Rockland cherry picker while the lights remain off. The community doesn’t need another staged photograph or reassuring press release—we need electricity, honest communication, and a utility company capable of responding to a crisis with the urgency it demands.

Electricity is not a luxury. It powers medical equipment, preserves medication and food, enables communication, protects homes from flooding, and provides the most basic necessities of modern life. A utility company enjoys the privilege of operating as a regulated monopoly because the public depends on it. That privilege carries with it an obligation to provide competent, reliable, and timely service, especially during emergencies.

The residents of Pomona deserve answers. Why did it take nearly a full day before anyone from Orange & Rockland appeared on the scene? Why were restoration estimates repeatedly issued and then abandoned? Why does it appear that customers are expected to accept higher rates while receiving lower standards of service?

This should not be dismissed as an unfortunate inconvenience. It reflects a deeply troubling pattern in which customer service has deteriorated while costs have steadily increased. Ratepayers are not asking for perfection. We are asking for competence, transparency, accountability, and a response that reflects the seriousness of the crisis facing the people who depend on this essential service.

Orange & Rockland owes this community more than another automated text message with yet another delayed restoration estimate. It owes us an explanation, accountability for this failure, and, most importantly, a commitment that no community will ever again be left to endure this level of neglect.

— A Furious Pomona Resident

The views expressed in this letter do not necessarily represent those of Monsey Scoop. Have an opinion you’d like to share? Send it to us for review.