LIPA's Storm Center Update: Hurricane Sandy - November 7

John Mitty Wednesday, November 7, 2012

LIPA is responding to the high winds, rain, and snow in our area today. The storm has caused additional damage and power outages and we will continue to deploy our significant workforce to address all power outages.

We are still working toward our goal of restoring power today to 90% of all customers affected by Hurricane Sandy whose homes and businesses are safe to accept power. Today's weather may impede our restoration efforts, because we must also ensure the safety of our workforce. Rest assured that our crews will continue to work as long as, and whenever, it is safe to do so.

As of today, we have restored power to over 781,000 customers on Long Island who were affected by Hurricane Sandy. Approximately 149,000 remain without power; this figure excludes many of the customers in the hardest hit areas not yet able to receive electric power.

Power is also being restored to customers in and around the most severely damaged areas of Brookville, St. James and Port Jefferson, but customers in those areas should still continue to prepare for the possibility that restoration could require another week or more.

There are over 12,000 people supporting our restoration effort, including over 8,100 high voltage and tree trim crews working on the LIPA system, and several hundred additional work crews are arriving today.

LIPA continues to work with local authorities in those communities whose homes and businesses currently may be unable to receive power due to severe flooding. We are working with these authorities to determine whether and when these homes and businesses will be fit to safely receive electric service and will be posting detailed information about this process on our Web site.

In the meantime, we want to ensure that our customers are prepared for the potential of additional outages resulting from today's storm.

• Customers should check to make sure they have bottled water, working flashlights, a battery operated radio and extra batteries in their home.
• If you plan to use a generator to supply power during an outage, be sure to only operate it outdoors. Disconnect from the electric system by shutting off the main breaker located in the electric service panel. Failure to do this could jeopardize the safety of crews working to restore power.
• If you see a downed wire, do not go near it or drive over it, always assume it's a live electric wire.  Consider all downed wires to be dangerous, including telephone, fiber optic and cable TV wires. They may be in contact with energized wires that are not within your view.
• If you have lost power, please be sure to disconnect sensitive appliances, such as computers, televisions, electric stoves and microwaves, to avoid potential power surge damage when electricity is restored. If you are unsure, we recommend unplugging them so they do not come on when power is restored. Additionally, we caution our customers to ensure that items are not left on or near stoves and other appliance that have a potential fire risk should power be restored and the appliance comes on.

Customers can stay tuned to local media for updated storm information or visit LIPA's Storm Center at www.lipower.org .

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

Appears In: Press Releases

 

 

• Business News
• Education
• Entertainment
• Jobs & Careers
• Local Events
• Local Steals, Deals & More
• Press Releases
• Restaurants & Food
• Sports & Recreation

Columnists John M.   Show all Columnists