PSEG: Power restored to more than 98 percent of customers who lost it after damaging storm

PSEG Long Island has restored service to more than 98 percent of its customers affected by an intense storm that struck western Suffolk County on Sunday, knocking over trees and power lines. 

Just after 9 p.m., PSEG Long Island reported that about 1,740 of its 1.1 million customers across Long Island and the Rockaways  were still without power.  

But in a briefing on its website Tuesday night, the company said: "We expect to have virtually all customers restored by midnight tonight. There will be a few tougher jobs remaining into Wednesday.

"The remaining outages are concentrated in neighborhoods where the damage is particularly extensive or the equipment is difficult to reach due to location and/or downed trees and debris," the update said.

The utility company, which has more than 1,000 tree and line restoration personnel at work, is still being assisted by 550 additional personnel from PSEG New Jersey, National Grid, Con Edison, Central Hudson, Utica, Buffalo, and NYSEG.

"We're going to keep working straight through [Tuesday night] and re-evaluate in the morning," said PSEG spokeswoman Elizabeth Flagler. "We will keep them on as long as we need to, to restore outages." 

More than 95,000 customers lost power Sunday afternoon when the storm — actually three systems that gathered strength at  about the same time — quickly turned sunny skies dark in central Suffolk, toppling trees, dropping quarter-size hail in spots and causing one death. PSEG said power had been restored to 93,672 of those customers in its 9 p.m. Tuesday storm update.

Crews working with PSEG removed about 700 trees since the storm hit the area on Sunday, the update said, from the hard-hit towns of Babylon, Huntington, Islip and Smithtown.

Suffolk police said a female paddleboarder drowned in rough water off Timber Point during one of the storms.  Her identity had not been released, police said Tuesday.

One storm hit the Huntington area east into Commack; another sliced through Bay Shore east to Oakdale, and a third barreled through the North and South forks, said Tim Morrin, observation program leader at the National Weather Service in Upton.

Thunderclaps and powerful gusts ranging from 40 mph to more than 60 mph toppled deep-rooted trees onto houses and vehicles and knocked out streetlights. Boaters enjoying calm, glassy water conditions moments before under midafternoon sun found themselves suddenly desperately trying to secure their craft from a quick torrent of powerful waves.

PSEG Long Island said crews had been working nonstop and would continue to work 16-hour shifts to make repairs. 

"We know being without electricity for any length of time is a hardship, and we thank our customers for their patience as we work through the damage and difficult conditions to restore power," the company said.