How Are Utilities In The Tri-State Are Preparing For Wednesday's Snow Storm?
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The impending snow storm could mean power outages for residents in the suburbs surrounding New York City.
This summer, millions lost power, some for weeks at a time, after Hurricane Isaias, so how are the utilities preparing this time around?
Downed power lines, trees blocking roads and no communication for more than a week from PSEG Long Island is what almost a third of customers in Nassau and Suffolk counties experienced in August after the hurricane.
LINK: Check The Latest Forecast
This time around, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone says those issues "are being worked on."
"I am expecting them to respond effectively," he said.
MORE STORM INFORMATION FROM NYC:
- Guidance on restaurant preparations
- Severe weather guidance
- Department of Sanitation snow operations
- Track NYC snow plows
PSEG is facing legal action for how it reponded in August and would not make anyone available Tuesday for an interview about the impending storm. A spokesperson said by email the utility is prepared.
Also in the hot seat are the companies Orange and Rockland and Con Edison.
New York State's utility regulator says both face potential penalties of more than $100 million for their response to Hurricane Isaias.
Con Edison says for this storm, the company has 200 extra mutual aid crews ready.
"We need to prepare ahead of time and make sure you have mutual aid crews standing by and everyone is ready for when the storm comes so we can attend to those outages as soon as they occur," said Con Edison spokesperson Alfonso Quiroza.
Here are some additional weather links to help keep an eye on the storm.
New Jersey recently reviewed its utilities, finding communication with customers needs to be improved.
"What is PSE&G going to do differently this time?" CBS2's Lisa Rozner asked PSE&G spokesperson Rebecca Mazzarella.
"It's really important that we stay connected with our customers throughout any outage ... We ask our customers to download our mobile app," Mazzarella said.
Both PSE&G and JCP&L say extra aid is on the way, but JCP&L has been particularly under fire as customers without power in the summer tried for weeks to reach someone.
"Is there anything that JCP&L has changed?" Rozner asked.
"It really all depends on the amount damage that we see and the amount of infrastructure that's hurt," spokesperson Todd Meyers said.
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Half of customers in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, had been in the dark. The mayor is hopeful.
"I've seen noticeable amounts of tree trimming crews over the last couple months," Mayor James Baldassare said.
In Connecticut, Eversource was accused of prioritizing power restoration over clearing downed wires and trees. For Wednesday, the utility says line and tree crews are prepositioned around the state.
REPORTING POWER OUTAGES
Click on the links below for information from utilities in your area.
New York:
New Jersey:
Connecticut:
