Uniondale, NY - September 19, 2017 - PSEG Long Island continues to monitor the track and potential impact Hurricane Jose will have on its service territory on Wednesday. The utility is ready to respond to possible power outages and is encouraging its customers to take the steps necessary to be prepared and safe.
Anticipating that Hurricane Jose could affect Long Island with heavy rainfall and tropical storm force wind gusts across the island, PSEG Long Island is ensuring additional supplies are on hand, including poles and transformers, and will have additional personnel ready to respond to the approaching storm.
“We are monitoring the forecast closely, and our emergency preparedness plans are activated,” said John O’Connell, vice president of transmission and distribution for PSEG Long Island. “While the track of Jose remains to the east of Long Island, we do expect strong winds and will be ready for the forecasted conditions.”
In addition to readying its in-house crews to respond, PSEG Long Island has arranged for mutual assistance to support its restoration efforts from electric utilities outside of the metropolitan area, including 85 linemen and 121 tree trimmers from PSE&G in New Jersey. Additional line crews have also been secured from utilities that have been released from restoration assignments associated with Hurricane Irma.
In addition to having additional personnel and equipment at the ready, the utility has strengthened the electric grid to better withstand extreme weather and allow for faster power restoration, including elevating a number of substations above flood level in preparation for this kind of severe weather. This ongoing work is funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Assistance storm hardening program.
To help minimize storm damage to Long Island’s electric system, PSEG Long Island has also implemented an aggressive, year-round tree trimming program to identify and trim tree limbs in rights of way and along easements that could potentially cause outages during or after a storm.
How customers can prepare for a storm:
- Ensure you have a battery-powered radio and fresh batteries.
- Check your supply of flashlights, blankets, nonperishable food and bottled water.
- Create an emergency communications plan.
- Develop an evacuation plan.
- Charge your cell phones, tablets and other mobile devices.
- Make sure to have cash available. Banks may be closed or inaccessible after a storm.
- Fill up your vehicle’s fuel tank.
- Bring in unsecured objects and furniture from patios and balconies.
- Compile a list of emergency phone numbers, including PSEG Long Island’s 24-hour Electric Service number: 1-800-490-0075.
- Discuss storm and lightning safety with your family. Visit https://www.psegliny.com/page.cfm/Home/Safety for safety tips from Sesame Street, YouTube safety videos and more.
- Follow PSEG Long Island on Facebook and Twitter for updates before, during and after the storm.
- Downed wires should always be considered “live.” Do not approach or drive over a downed line, and do not touch anything it might be in contact with. If a wire falls on or near your car, stay inside the car, call 911 and do not get out until PSEG Long Island de-energizes the line. If you MUST exit the vehicle because it is on fire, jump as far as possible away from the vehicle, with both feet landing on the ground at the same time, and hop or shuffle away.
Several easy ways for customers to report outages and receive updates:
- The mobile-friendly outage map includes the number of customers served in the service territory and a selected area, the number affected by an outage, as well as the estimated restoration time and the cause of the outage, if available — at outagemap.psegliny.com.
- MyAlerts, PSEG Long Island’s text message service, can be used to report and receive status updates on an outage. Since this requires an account number for a one-time registration, it’s best to register beforehand. To register, text REG to PSEGLI (773454), or visit the My Account section of the website www.psegliny.com/account. Once registered, simply text OUT to PSEGLI (773454) to report an outage.
- To report downed wires or power outages, customers should call PSEG Long Island’s 24-hour Electric Service number 1-800-490-0075 or report outages online at https://www.psegliny.com/page.cfm/CustomerService/ReportOutage.
PSEG Long Island operates the Long Island Power Authority’s transmission and distribution system under a 12-year contract. PSEG Long Island is a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG), a publicly traded diversified energy company with annual revenues of $9.1 billion.