Power On: PSEG Long Island Continues to Storm-Harden the Grid

PSEG Long Island is prepared to support the electrical needs of the community

(UNIONDALE, N.Y. – March 31, 2020) To continue storm hardening the electric infrastructure its customers rely on, PSEG Long Island is proud to announce it is launching Power On, a new initiative that will strengthen distribution lines across Long Island and the Rockaways.

Since 2015, PSEG Long Island has replaced 24,800 poles with stronger poles capable of withstanding winds up to 135 mph and storm hardened more than 1,000 miles of distribution lines using federal funding available after Superstorm Sandy. Storm-hardened circuits have seen a significant reduction in storm damage and 45% fewer outages.

Power On will continue this important work, improving the most vulnerable circuits across Long Island and the Rockaways.

“The results we’ve seen from our federally funded storm-hardening program over the past five years have been outstanding,” said John O’Connell, vice president of Transmission and Transmission Operations at PSEG Long Island. “We are proud to bring our customers this improved reliability, and we are excited to bring these upgrades to even more communities.”

PSEG Long Island is deeply committed to the health, safety and wellbeing of our customers, employees and our communities. PSEG Long Island, like many companies, has robust business continuity plans and planning processes that predate the COVID-19 outbreak. Over the past several weeks, we have been reviewing those plans to ensure their effectiveness in this situation and are implementing them accordingly. In addition, we are leveraging the guidance of the CDC and state and local authorities in the areas we operate. At PSEG Long Island, we know that our customers rely on us to power their lives and businesses. We are doing our part in fulfilling this commitment. Should any of our operations become impacted and customers become affected, we aim to communicate in a clear and timely fashion to those affected.

Power On will focus on mainline circuits, the backbone of PSEG Long Island’s distribution system. The mainlines feed the many branch lines that power the homes and businesses in your municipality.

Specifically, storm-hardening upgrades include:

• Stronger Poles: PSEG Long Island will replace some existing utility poles with stronger, more durable poles that are capable of withstanding winds up to 135 mph. The new poles will be approximately the same height as the existing poles, have a stronger base and will be placed about 3 feet from the current pole locations. PSEG Long Island will actively coordinate the removal of old poles with other utilities and municipalities.
• Narrow Profiles: To help wires deflect falling limbs instead of catching them, PSEG Long Island will be installing shorter cross arms atop some poles.
• Stronger Wire: Current wire will be reconductored with more resilient and durable wire.
• PSEG Long Island will upgrade or replace deteriorated equipment as necessary.
  
  

Work on the first circuits is expected to begin in April and will continue over the next five years.

Please visit www.psegliny.com/inthecommunity/currentinitiatives/stormhardeningprojects for additional information.

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PSEG Long Island
PSEG Long Island operates the Long Island Power Authority’s transmission and distribution system under a long-term contract. PSEG Long Island is a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (PSEG) (NYSE:PEG), a publicly traded diversified energy company.