State: NYSEG needs new power outage fixes

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July 2, 2012

State: NYSEG needs new power outage fixes

By Joe Mahoney Staff Writer The Daily Star Mon Jul 02, 2012, 03:30 AM EDT

COOPERSTOWN _ After studying the response of the utility industry to widespread outages caused by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee, state regulators are directing the New York State Electric & Gas Co. to find new ways to quickly restore power to its customers.

"NYSEG should examine its company as a whole to establish an optimal crew deployment to achieve restoration for the largest number of customers in the least amount of time," the state Public Service Commission said in a report evaluating the storm response by New York investor-owned utilities.

The PSC said all utilities during severe weather conditions need to improve restoration performances, emergency preparation and communication with customers, public officials and the media.

The report said about 131,000 NYSEG customers were impacted by Hurricane Irene in late August.

By Sept. 2, power had been restored to 98 percent of the customers who lost it. The remaining 2 percent of the customers were in the company's Oneonta and Brewster divisions, the report said. Their power was restored by Sept. 5 _ meaning some endured a power loss for up to eight days.

The Oneonta division includes customers in Broome, Chenango, Delaware, Greene, Herkimer, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Otsego, Schoharie and Ulster counties, according to NYSEG's website.

In response to the report, NYSEG spokesman Dick Marion said: "Providing safe and reliable electricity service is of paramount importance to NYSEG."

He added: "The company is currently reviewing the recommendations in the PSC report and, as part of continuous efforts, has already made enhancements to some of our existing practices and procedures. We will continue to review the report for opportunities to enhance service reliability, reduce restoration times and will fully address the other recommendations."

The PSC said NYSEG and other utilities in the area where the storms hit suffered "significant infrastructure damage" from flash floods and strong winds that uprooted trees and sent branches crashing into power lines.

The regulators said NYSEG needs to do a better job in the future keeping customers updated on its estimates for when power will be restored after outages.

The PSC said NYSEG updated its website only once per day with estimates of when the power would be available, while other utilities provided those updates more frequently.

The utility watchdog said NYSEG told its staffers that bridge closures and roads blocked by fallen trees hampered the effort to restore power.

"We understand how travel conditions can delay restoration efforts, but such conditions should be expected and addressed by established procedures," the PSC said.

The PSC report did not include an assessment of the response of customer-owned utility providers such as Delaware County Electric Cooperative and Otsego Electric Cooperative.