Expect a lively exchange at the meeting that PSEG Long Island will hold with Manhasset, Port Washington and Great Neck residents on March 24, when the two groups meet to discuss a project that many in the area are unaware of.
PSEG took over upkeep of the area’s electrical system on Jan. 1. The utility feels the area needs significant work, calling it a “critical need project for summer, 2014,” with its efforts aimed at improving service for general use, as well as heavy use and during storms, PSEG spokesman Jeffrey Weir said. The utility is putting up poles as large as 85 feet to keep them above the tree lines so that transmission wires can safely operate, he said.
Through a petition, area residents are already showing their consternation with the large poles that PSEG has undertaken.
The petition, started by Port resident Christine Hogan last week, already has roughly 1,200 signatures. It urges PSEG to stop putting up 80-foot poles and accompanying high voltage transmission wires.
The upshot from those who have left comments is the project is impacting property values, quality of life and raising health concerns.
As for the petition, “The Internet provides an avenue where customers can get together over a concern they may have and we welcome that,” Weir said. “We want to learn from every situation the way we learn from every storm.”
PSEG is also “looking forward” to the March 24 meeting, he added.
So far, most people who have signed the petition are from Port Washington. Hogan is working to broaden its reach into Manhasset and Great Neck, which are also slated for the project. Hogan got the idea to start the petition from residents in East Hampton, an area that also has a PSEG project going on. Local residents can sign by logging on to www.keepthenorthshorebeautiful.com.
Hogan hopes the meeting, which will be held at 7 p.m. at Harbor Links Clubhouse, “will stop the project, enlighten the public on the limited role they play in issues related to public utilities and will motivate them to hold their state public officials accountable.”
The meeting with PSEG will feature a brief overview of the project by the utility’s representatives and then an informational session in which booths will be staffed by experts on various components of the project.
