The remnants of Hurricane Laura are expected to bring heavy rains and high winds to Long Island this weekend. Utility company PSEG says it’s ready. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says he’s doubtful.
PSEG Long Island came under fire earlier this month for its response to Tropical Storm Isaias. More than 420,000 customers lost power — many couldn’t contact the utility company, and some customers waited days for power to come back on.
PSEG’s poor communication and performance sparked investigations, hearings, and now, a warning from Cuomo about upcoming storms:
“Don’t say, ‘Oh, it was a storm, it was an act of God.’ No. It’s an act of a utility company. We pay you to be prepared for the storm and repair power in a short period of time after the storm,” Cuomo said.
In response to the fallout from Isaias, PSEG says it has reconfigured its phone system and rolled back its outage management system to a previous, more stable version.
PSEG also says it’s called in additional crews to help restore power after this weekend’s storms.