Letter: PSEG updates still lacking
PSEG Long Island trucks leave a service yard on Jan. 1, 2014. Credit: Newsday / J. Conrad Williams Jr.
The surprising strength of the Aug. 4 thunderstorms certainly caught many of us off guard ["Thousands lose power," News, Aug. 5]. I wish to commend the men and women of PSEG Long Island for their diligence in restoring power to those of us affected in northern Suffolk County. Yet the leadership of PSEG with regard to communication with the public still justifies the poor rating the utility is receiving ["Customer survey puts PSEG last," News, July 15].
Although we were spared the storm's damages, our power went out at about 5:30 a.m. Following PSEG's earlier instructions, I called the emergency number on my cellphone, only to receive a message that the number was "not in service."
I checked the number carefully, but it was correct. This problem went on for at least 90 minutes. Finally, I got through to the recorded menu to report the outage.
I appreciated hearing that I would be contacted soon with a text message to anticipate when power would be restored. I received an apologetic message at 8:26 a.m. that the power would be restored to my home by 2:30 p.m. Then my power was restored at about 10 a.m., so I certainly felt no reason to complain.
However, at 11 a.m., I received another text message that the "new restoration" time would be 5 p.m. Evidently, the system did not recognize that power was already restored.
It seems that this new system of PSEG communication has not yet reached the 21st century.
Michael Steuer, Smithtown
