LI Senate Majority Demands Investigation Into PSEG Communications Failures During Isaias

(Rockville Centre, New York) — The Long Island Senate Majority delegation, which includes Senators Todd Kaminsky, John Brooks, Anna Kaplan, Kevin Thomas, James Gaughran and Monica Martinez, wrote to New York State Attorney General Letitia James requesting an investigation into communication failures by PSEG Long Island, Verizon and the Long Island Power Authority (“LIPA”) during and after Tropical Storm Isaias. The Senators’ offices have been inundated with constituents complaints over their inability to report power outages to utilities to be fixed. 

“While a powerful storm is beyond anyone’s control, the breakdown of these entities’ communications systems prohibiting Long Islanders from contacting customer service and reporting power outages is a deeply troubling failure that must be probed,” said Senator Todd Kaminsky. “This communications collapse is unacceptable to hardworking PSEG-LI ratepayers, many of whom were seeking to report dangerous situations created by downed power lines and live wires. Long Islanders are understandably frustrated, not only from having lost power, but also as a result of PSEG-LI’s inability to effectively receive and disseminate information during the storm and to respond appropriately to outages across the Island.”

More than 400,000 Long Islanders lost power during the tropical storm, but both PSEG’s text-in system for reporting outages — as well as its phone lines, which are serviced by Verizon — were not functioning properly during and after the storm, causing Long Islanders further delays in getting power restored to their homes.

The Senators’ letter is attached.

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