PSEG-Long Island again revised the date it will finish restoring power that Tropical Storm Isasias knocked out, extending the deadline from Monday to Wednesday.
The latest extension comes as frustrations continue to mount and parts of LI are under a heat advisory for the second day in a row while thousands of homes and businesses remain without power and air conditioning in one of the hottest months of the year.
“We expect that all work we have been able to identify to date will be completed by end of day Wednesday,” the utility said in a statement.
Thousands of PSEG-LI’s 1.1 million customers in Nassau and Suffolk counties and the Rockaways remain without power Tuesday morning, a week after the storm knocked out power to more than 420,000 of the utility’s customers. Many proved unable to call, text, or access the website of the utility after the storm.
Since then, many residents who believed they were on the utility’s priority list for restoration due to family members with medical issues at home shared stories of being left in the dark for days. Many others say they saw the estimated time of restoration that PSEG-LI gave them come and go without power being turned back on. It initially said it would have all power back by Saturday, then bumped that deadline to Monday.
As a result, Long Island lawmakers are calling on PSEG-Long Island to refund utility bills, reimburse ratepayers for spoiled food, and fire its leadership following the electric company’s response.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo also ordered the state Department of Public Service to investigate PSEG-LI, Verizon, and other utilities’ response to Isaias. Lawmakers on LI urged the state attorney general’s office to also open a probe, and Nassau County lawmakers plan to question PSEG-LI management on the topic during a hearing Monday.
For its part, PSEG-LI said is now has 6,000 workers from other utility companies nationwide helping restore power. Current outages include those from the storm, intentional outages to make areas safe for ongoing restoration, and new outages not directly related to the storm.
Related Story: Tropical Storm Isaias Wreaks Havoc on Long Island
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