LIPA Customers Grow Weary Of Power Outages As Second Storm Hits The Area
ROSLYN, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Customers on Long Island are growing impatient with LIPA's effort to restore power in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.
In areas like Roslyn Estates, wires still dangled dangerously and homes were getting colder as a nor'easter bore down on the Tri-State Area on Wednesday, but the utility company said that many people would have to wait longer and it would not release any time estimates for restoration.
The storm added another 15,000 outages to the 200,000 homes that were already without power, creating a cold and seemingly endless wait for hundreds of thousands of customers.
"I registered for the LIPA texts and they said 99 percent by Wednesday; I haven't even been getting my texts from LIPA," Roslyn Estates resident Debbie Schacter told CBS 2's Carolyn Gusoff.
LIPA officials blamed the absence of texts and time estimates on a massive workload that made getting the word out an impossibility.
Power was to remain out even longer for residents of the flooded South Shore, where 100,000 homes were awaiting electrical surveys. LIPA said that residents should wait for surveyors who are going door to door, but were free to make repairs in the meantime.
Major damage caused by the nor'easter could result in extended power outages for many who have already been without power for 10 days.
LIPA officials dispelled rumors that they were turning away non-union workers, and that there were supply shortages.
Are you a LIPA customer who has gotten their power restored? How long did it take? Let us know in our comments section below...
