PSEG Long Island crews head upstate to help restore power

More than 110,000 upstate residents whose power has been out since Wednesday’s powerful storm will get an assist from 230 of PSEG’s line personnel, the utility said.

“Just as we seek mutual aid when severe weather hits Long Island and the Rockaways, we are fortunate to be able to help other utilities make repairs and keep their customers’ lights on by sending our crews,” said John O’Connell, PSEG Long Island vice president of transmission and distribution, in a statement.

Wind gusts hit 80 mph during the upstate storm, O’Connell said.

The hosting utility reimburses for associated costs, PSEG said.

Though PSEG is sending about 25 percent of its workforce to Rochester and Buffalo, a utility spokesman said these are construction crews not the workers who restore power to Long Island customers.

Asked if PSEG’s contractors would return to Long Island ahead of Tuesday’s possible nor’easter, he said the utility was monitoring the weather.

“We’re going to be ready and make sure we have full complement of folks here on Long Island to support what we do here. . . . We’re also going to do everything we can to help the folks upstate.”