LIPA Responds Quickly and Efficiently to Restore Outages During the Blizzard of 2006 Uniondale--February 13, 2006--The Blizzard of 2006 hit Long Island with a wallop! With wind gusts reaching over 50MPH and snow accumulations of up to 2 feet, the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) field staff worked 16-hour shifts to restore service to customers that were affected when the high winds and heavy snow broke branches and toppled trees onto power lines. From shortly after midnight Sunday, and through Sunday, more than 7,000 LIPA customers were affected by this winter weather system at various times. The peak number of outages (3,079) occurred at 9:00 AM on Sunday. Almost 200 restoration crews worked extended shifts replacing poles, repairing power lines, removing trees from LIPA facilities, replacing fuses and resetting transformers. Due to the hard work of these dedicated men and women approximately 82% of all outages were restored in less than four hours. Due to severe damage caused in some locations, such as the Plainview area. About 100 customers experienced a prolonged outage due to the time needed to safely complete system restoration. "This success is a result of LIPA investing over $ 1.5 billion dollars in upgrades to Long Island's electric system," said LIPA Chairman Richard M. Kessel. We all owe a thank-you to the men and women of our restoration crews, who work so hard to keep the island's lights on". LIPA's customers are encouraged to visit LIPA's Storm Center on LIPA's Web site www.lipower.org. LIPA's Storm Center features updated weather reports, electric outage information and tips to stay prepared for weather emergencies. Summary of the storm interruption data:
LIPA, a non-profit municipal electric utility, owns the retail electric Transmission and Distribution System on Long Island and provides electric service to over 1.1 million customers in Nassau and Suffolk counties and the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens. In terms of customers served, LIPA is the 3rd largest municipal electric utility in the nation and the 6th largest in terms of electricity delivered. LIPA does not provide natural gas service or own any on-island electric generating assets. ### Contact Information: Press Release 2/13/06 6:49 PM Eastern |
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