By Akane Otani
More than one million customers in New York, New Jersey and
Connecticut were without power for a third day since Tropical Storm
Isaias battered the region, and some outages could stretch into
next week, utility companies said.
Consolidated Edison Inc., which serves customers in New York
City and Westchester, said Thursday it probably would take until
the end of Sunday to restore power to "the vast majority of
customers."
Jersey Central Power and Light said it would take until late
Tuesday to restore power to the customers it serves in central and
northern New Jersey. And Eversource Energy in Connecticut said it
was hoping to provide estimated repair times for customers sometime
Thursday afternoon.
"It's a total disaster," Richard Whalen, 81 years old, said
Thursday.
Mr. Whalen said his house in South Salem, N.Y., in Westchester
County north of New York City, had been without power from New York
State Electric and Gas Corp. since Tuesday afternoon. He has relied
on a backup generator for the past few days but planned to drive
into town Thursday to get more fuel for the generator.
NYSEG has provided little communication, Mr. Whalen said.
"You call and you get the same thing we heard Wednesday morning:
no estimated time of repair," he said.
NYSEG said Thursday that it would work to get customers
estimated times for repairs by the afternoon, and that it expected
95% of customers to have power back on by late Monday.
Amy Bass, 50, of New Rochelle, N.Y., also in Westchester, said
she lost power from ConEd late Tuesday and hadn't had it back
since.
"We woke up to rotting and melting food, drained phones, and no
Wi-Fi and cell service," Ms. Bass said.
She said she was grateful she and her family were safe but
disappointed over the lack of updates from the utility. Isaias was
just one of a number of storms that have led to prolonged power
outages at her house over the years, she said.
Isaias barreled through the area Tuesday, downing trees and
causing at one point more than two million outages. Police
officials have confirmed at least two storm-related deaths -- one
in Queens, another in Connecticut -- and are investigating a third
in New Jersey caused by a possible electrocution.
Hardware and home-improvement stores reported an influx of
customers in the days after the storm.
There has been a "huge need for flashlights, batteries, propane
and oil for generators," said Howie Levine, owner of Denville
Hardware, a family-run store that has been in business in northern
New Jersey for 74 years.
Meanwhile, politicians across the tri-state region ramped up
pressure on utilities to expedite repairs.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a press briefing
Thursday that he had talked to the president of ConEd earlier that
day and asked the utility to speed up its work.
"We just can't have people wait that long. It's just not fair,"
Mr. de Blasio said, referring to the utility's initial estimate of
Sunday for restoring power to most customers.
In Connecticut, the authority that oversees public utilities
said Thursday that it had opened an investigation into how
utilities Eversource and United Illuminating prepared for and
responded to Isaias. The authority will also consider whether the
utilities should pay civil penalties.
"There are disturbing reports emerging about the coordination,
or lack thereof, between our electric utilities and the communities
which they serve. This is simply unacceptable," said Marissa
Gillett, chairwoman of the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory
Authority, in a statement.
PURA opened the investigation at the request of Connecticut Gov.
Ned Lamont, who declared a state of emergency Wednesday.
"This is how we start to hold our public utilities accountable,"
Mr. Lamont said in a tweet.
Representatives from Eversource didn't immediately comment. A
spokesman for United Illuminating said the utility will fully
cooperate with the investigation and welcomes any recommendations
to improve storm response.
"Our focus right now is working our plan and restoring service
to all of our customers," he said.
Joseph De Avila contributed to this article.
Write to Akane Otani at akane.otani@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 06, 2020 16:34 ET (20:34 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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