LIPA vows improved customer communication

LIPA and National Grid officials told Suffolk legislators Thursday that they would try to improve communications with customers during major outages following criticism after Tropical Storm Irene.

Long Island Power Authority vice president for environmental affairs Michael Deering acknowledged complaints from customers about not being able to find out when power would be restored.

He said at a legislative meeting on public safety in Smithtown that LIPA would conduct an internal review of its performance, including seeking input from officials from other utilities, as is the norm after major events. He offered no specific changes being considered.

Committee chairman Jack Eddington (I-Medford) said he'd ask the officials to update legislators next month.

The hearing was the latest public questioning of LIPA's and National Grid's actions during and after the storm, though a relatively mild one, compared with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's public scolding of the authority last week. Legislators Thursday questioned the utility officials about why power was not restored more quickly to people with medical conditions or power-dependent businesses.

Noting that LIPA didn't hit its peak number of workers on the street until the Friday after the Sunday storm, Presiding Officer William Lindsay (D-Holbrook) questioned why LIPA and National Grid hadn't called on towns with streetlight-repair crews or even the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union for reinforcements.

John Bruckner, Long Island president of National Grid, the company that contracts with LIPA to operate the grid, said he'd have to report back.