Storm-hardening programs in Sandy’s aftermath also resulted in more than 26,000 new utility poles and 45,000 bigger, stronger poles. In Eastport, where PSEG replaced wooden poles with taller steel poles, the outcry grew so loud that PSEG was forced to take down a mile-long stretch of the poles and put the line underground. It led to customer outrage in places such as Port Washington and East Hampton. When it first took on the LIPA contract in 2014 from National Grid, which had the contract during Superstorm Sandy, PSEG Long Island got to work installing thicker, taller poles, often in residential neighborhoods, to help better resist the impacts of strong winds from storms. Of the 44 substations originally knocked offline during the storm, seven were elevated, and all were fortified with stronger protections from flooding and severe weather, LIPA said. Some of the original $729 million went to raise substations so that they’re above the expected tidal surge levels and are better able to resist saltwater corrosion. ![]() LIPA has applied for another $350 million to $400 million in federal storm-hardening funds in the aftermath of Isaias. The federally funded project, which included installing automated equipment to help isolate outages, recently concluded, but LIPA has continued self-funding storm hardening with $70 million in annual upgrades and maintenance. LIPA benefited not only from $700 million in FEMA funds to pay for the restoration but another $729 million in storm hardening to prepare the system for the future and worsening storms. He cautioned, however: “I don’t think this is one of those things where you can ever say you’re done.” “We’re in a much better place than we’ve ever been before,” said LIPA chief executive Tom Falcone, of the result provided by billions of dollars in system repairs since Sandy. That storm left 535,000 customers without power for up to a week and deeply scarred the LIPA-PSEG relationship. ![]() Ten years later, LIPA said it has a system that is more “resilient” and reliable than ever, more ready for storms than it was even two years ago, when Tropical Storm Isaias showed that PSEG Long Island’s management and a recent computer system upgrade were the weakest links to a quick and orderly restoration. Thousands of repair crews, some flown in from as far away as California, had to deal with 37,000 outage locations - a record for Long Island and roughly double the number of repair spots that resulted from Hurricane Gloria in 1985, when 78% of the customer base lost power. LIPA said it took 17 days to restore all customers' power, and the cost was the largest in the utility’s history: more than $700 million. Up to 100,000 homes inundated by storm surge needed to be inspected by a newly deputized legion of electricians before LIPA could turn on the power, further delaying the response. ![]() Sandy hit Long Island almost 10 years ago, Oct. 29-30, 2012.įorty-four LIPA substations - critical connection points between power plants and neighborhoods - were knocked offline, some swamped by floodwaters. Dozens of hospitals, hundreds of schools, even gas stations went dark. Ninety percent of LIPA’s customers, 945,000 of its 1.1 million ratepayers, were left in the dark, and a second nor’easter the following week took out thousands more. Superstorm Sandy packed a historic wallop for the Long Island electric system.
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