Every storm season in tree-heavy towns like Teaneck, Englewood, and Montclair, the same scene repeats: a limb comes down, takes the overhead service line with it, and the homeowner spends two days on hold figuring out who fixes what. Here's the answer up front.
The split: utility side vs. your side
The utility (PSE&G in most of our area) owns the wires from the pole up to the connection point at your house. Everything attached to the house itself — the weatherhead (the hood where the wires enter), the mast or riser pipe, the service entrance cable running down the wall, and the meter pan — belongs to the homeowner. If any of that is bent, torn off, or hanging, the utility will not repair it; they'll wait for your electrician to fix it before they reconnect.
What to do in the first hour
Treat any downed or hanging line as live. Don't touch it, don't move it with a broom handle, and keep everyone away — then call the utility to report it. A line that took your mast down can still be energized.
How the repair actually flows
Once the utility makes the scene safe, the order is: licensed electrician repairs or replaces the mast, weatherhead, cable, and meter pan as needed — under a permit, since this is service equipment — then the inspection happens, then the utility reconnects. We handle the utility coordination and the cut-in card paperwork, because waiting on hold is not a good use of your week without power.
Worth checking before storm season
If your service cable is original to a 1950s–60s house, the insulation is often cracked and weathered — inspectors flag it constantly. Replacing it on your schedule beats replacing it during an outage. See our service wire & mast repair service or book a free estimate.
