LIPA outages minimal so far, spokesman says

Most Long Island Power Authority customers survived the early portion of Wednesday's winter storm quite nicely, a utility spokesman said.

"Overnight, we had about 900 customers with outages," LIPA spokesman Mark Gross said at about 7:30 a.m. "As of this morning, all but five customers are back on line."

Gross said the biggest test for the utility is ahead, as the snow gets heavier and roads become more difficult to manuever.

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"As the wind picks up and snow moves in, this will be a significant event for us, I am sure," Gross said.

He said the utility's message to its customers - and its service and repair teams - is patience and safety.

Customers should look for downed wires, he said, and alert the utility as quickly as possible. But he said that the storm will make it tricky for workers to get to and, in some instances, locate, power lines that have fallen.

The good news, Gross said, is that "we have a full staff because it is a weekday. So all hands are on deck."

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