LIPA to replace cable serving Fire Island

The Long Island Power Authority plans to replace a deteriorated cable at the bottom of the Great South Bay that helps power Fire Island.

"This particular cable is at its end of life," said LIPA spokeswoman Vanessa Baird-Streeter. "We're always looking at lines that provide capacity and energy for our customers."

The cable is one of three used to provide electricity to the island, she said. The other two already had been replaced and upgraded, she said.

Baird-Streeter said that replacing the old cable with a higher load capacity cable "allows us to serve Fire Island and any additional growth that may take place."

The $12 million project will not interrupt any service to Fire Island and should begin in the fall if all proper permits are acquired, Baird-Streeter said.

The Islip Town board unanimously voted to allow LIPA to replace the electric cable, which it said dates back to 1936. The vote Tuesday at the board's regularly scheduled meeting was required because the town owns part of the bottom of the Great South Bay.

Islip Planning Commissioner David Genaway said the work will "allow LIPA to better serve the existing population of Fire Island and better prepare them for future development."

"We want to make sure we are allowing LIPA to address this aging infrastructure," he said.