Long Island Family Blames PSEG For Electrical Shocks In Their Shower
PORT JEFFERSON STATION, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A Long Island mother says her home's shower has been giving her and her daughters electrical shocks for months -- and she blames their utility company.
"I don't want to get electrocuted, and I don't want to come home to, God forbid, one of my kids being electrocuted," Elizabeth Tutino, a postal worker and mother of two daughters home from college, told CBS2's Jennifer McLogan.
Tutino explained that touching the knobs in the shower at her Port Jefferson Station home has given her and her family shocks that "would just back us up, like, Oh my God." She said one of her daughters felt a jolt that lasted three hours.
The Tutinos called in an electrician, who told the family their condo was not properly grounded to their utility's wiring.
"He said, 'And your (television) cable's electrified," Tutino said.
PSEG Long Island made a house call.
"I did get the runaround," Tutino said. "They insisted it was inside the house, had nothing to do with them."
The Tutinos donned rubber-soled sandals and thick rubber gloves before showering, worried about the dangers of ungrounded wiring causing shock or even fire.
Neighbors volunteered their bathrooms.
PSEG disputes there was any runaround, saying it returned multiple times before and after CBS2's calls.
"We worked immediately to resolve the issue," the utility said in a statement. "Given that electric service to the residence is underground, we needed to have all utilities in the area marked out so that we could safely make a permanent repair."
PSEG said the issue has now been resolved.
The Tutinos hope the fix is permanent, not temporary.
"No family should ever have to go through this," Tutino said.