LIPA's Storm Center - Update with Hurricane Sandy Nov 6, 2012

John Mitty Wednesday, November 7, 2012

As of noon today, we have restored power to over 750,000 customers on Long Island who have been affected by Hurricane Sandy. Approximately 190,000 remain without power; this figure excludes many of the customers in the hardest hit areas not yet able to receive electric power.

By end of day, Wednesday November 7th, we expect to restore power to 90% of all customers whose homes and businesses are safe to accept power. Additionally, those customers in and around the most severely damaged areas of Brookville, St. James and Port Jefferson should expect to be restored in up to another week or more.

 

We continue to make good progress and are working aggressively to restore service as safely and as quickly as possible. Currently there are over 12,000 people supporting the restoration effort including over 8,000 high voltage and tree trim crews working on the LIPA system. LIPA continues to closely track weather reports regarding the pending Nor'easter anticipated for Wednesday and its potential impact to Long Island. Given the significant workforce currently working to restore power, we are best positioned to address any potential impact that the storm might cause to the system.

 

In addition to restoring power in areas where high winds brought down trees, poles and wires, we are also focused on areas that sustained significant flood damage from the storm. In these areas, generally south of Atlantic Blvd/Merrick Road/Sunrise Highway from the Rockaways to Mastic Beach, in order to ensure safety, any customer that experienced water intrusion to their electrical panels, electric outlets or wires must acquire an inspection certificate from an approved electrical inspection agency that certifies that the premises is safe to energize.

 

Currently, many municipalities are working to pre-screen homes and businesses in these severely flooded areas to better determine which premises can accept power safely, and which will need to seek electric inspection certificates. LIPA is working closely with these entities to bring back power to those home and businesses deemed safe.

 

Customers needing an electrical inspection certificate will be instructed to reach out to a licensed electrician or an electrical inspection agency to obtain this inspection/inspection certificate before LIPA can restore power. Once LIPA has been contacted by the inspection agency indicating that the customer's premises meets the code requirements and is safe to energize, a LIPA representative will be dispatched to restore the customer's electric service.

 

Your safety and well being remain our number one priority and we thank you for your continued patience during this difficult time.

jmitty@longislandyellowpages.com

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