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A Few Clouds LIPA chief: We need to do better
Says communication was lacking after major storms
The Long Island Power Authority needs to do better in communicating information with customers, Director Michael Hervey told members of the Mill Brook Civic Association at a recent homeowners meeting.
Hervey addressed a group of more than 50 residents on Oct. 19 at the Forest Road School in South Valley Stream for the civic association’s semi-annual membership meeting. He admitted that LIPA did not do a good job in getting information to customers after Hurricane Irene hit Long Island two months ago.
However, Hervey said, LIPA has a plan. First, he said, the authority must do a better job in relaying information from workers in the field to customer service representatives. That way when people call to find out when their power will be back, someone will have an answer.
He also said that LIPA will hold conference calls for municipal officials twice a day to update them on power restoration efforts. Hervey said one of the biggest criticisms after Hurricane Irene was that local town, county and village officials did not know what was going on. Civic Association President Marc Tenzer said he wants to get on that list, because residents of Mill Brook often call him for information, or to report concerns.
When people report a power outage, Hervey said he wants them to be able to receive a call back, updating them on the status of the outage. And, he said, the customer should receive a restoration call so LIPA can verify that the power is, in fact, back on.
Hurricane Irene was the largest disaster that LIPA has ever had to deal with, Hervey explained, with nearly half its customers losing power. Crews had 18,000 job locations on Long Island after the storm, three times that of Hurricane Gloria in 1985.
Hervey also said that LIPA was going to look to do a better job with its online outage map, which typically gives estimates as to when power will be restored. He said that LIPA meets its goal 95 percent of the time.
But some residents said that without power, they would not be able to get on to their computer to check the map. Additionally, they would not be able to watch the news on television, and their cell phone power could eventually run out. Hervey said LIPA is committed to using as many mediums as possible to get information to people, including text alerts and a possible application for smart phones.
Tenzer echoed the sentiments of the homeowners, saying many were forced to call LIPA’s emergency number just to speak with a person. “We just couldn’t get answers,” he said.
Hervey said that LIPA has recently added district managers as a way of communicating with local communities. He also noted that everyone employed by the utility, regardless of their normal job, has a storm-related assignment.
For Hurricane Irene, Hervey said that LIPA requested an additional 2,500 workers from out-of-state utility companies, but only 1,000 were available. That’s because many other companies in the Northeast also requested assistance, so there were only so many crews to go around. “Every utility depends on mutual assistance from other utilities,” he said.
LIPA also should do a better job of communicating to people in advance of a storm, he said. Hervey explained that many residents simply didn’t know how serious Hurricane Irene was going to be.
Hervey said that LIPA does its best to prevent power outages, spending $20 million a year to trim trees around power lines, and another $2 million to remove trees in danger of falling. It also keeps track of areas where there a frequent power interruptions, to see if upgrades are needed on the local electric system.
He also discussed LIPA’s pending contract negotiations with three companies to provide electric service. The deal with National Grid expires on Dec. 31, 2013. He said LIPA is looking to get better control over the price of electric, more reliable service and more jobs on Long Island in its next contract. Three companies — National Grid, PSE&G and Con Edison — are in the running.
