GOVERNOR DISPATCHES LIPA WORKERS TO ASSIST DELMARVA PENINSULA AND PA
Praises Workers Statewide for Preparedness Prior to Hurricane Isabel

Governor George E. Pataki today announced that due to the millions of electric customers in states such as Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland who lost power as a result of Hurricane Isabel, he has dispatched electric repair crews to southern utilities to help speed restoration efforts there.

The Governor also today praised State and local emergency workers across New York State for a rapid and effective emergency response effort and overall disaster preparedness, which has helped to significantly minimize the impact of Hurricane Isabel on New York, and has directed LIPA to also send Mutual Assistance Restoration crews to any area of the State that should require assistance.

“New York State was fully prepared to meet Hurricane Isabel head on, and I am proud of the rapid and efficient response of LIPA and State and local agencies across New York State,” Governor Pataki said. “In times of crisis, New Yorkers have been the beneficiaries of an outpouring of support from people across America. Now, we have an opportunity to reciprocate by sending our expert electric repair crews south, to assist Conectiv and PPL in recovering from the more devastating effects of Hurricane Isabel there.

“Our emergency management office has reached out to the states most affected by this storm and offered any assistance needed to supplement state response,” Governor Pataki said. “Under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) enacted in the wake of the September 11th attack, States impacted by disaster may request assistance from other states to help deal with events such as Hurricane Isabel. New York is a full partner in this multi-state compact agreement.”

The LIPA crews will be dispatched after all LIPA customers have been returned to service. The crews will be sent to Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania over the weekend. Specifically, ten tree trimming crews to the Delmarva Peninsula and 32 line crews to Pennsylvania Power & Light. Of this latter number, 12 are LIPA and 20 are contractor crews. NYSEG may request assistance in Central NY after 2:00PM this afternoon.

Since 2PM, September 18th, slightly over 51,000 LIPA customers lost service as a result of the Tropical Storm winds and rains that whipped across Long Island over night. The bulk of the outages occurred between the hours of 2AM and 5AM, when Isabel's effects were most intense.

By 2PM this afternoon, more than 46,247 customers, nearly 90%, had been returned to service. It's anticipated that the remaining customers, about 5,000, will have service restored by later today.

LIPA has more than 800 line and tree trim personnel working to make the restorations. Work will continue around the clock until all customers are back in service.

"It's been a tremendous effort," Governor Pataki said. "LIPA and KeySpan were well prepared for this storm. Pre-planning was key to the swift dispatch of repair crews and quick restoration work. LIPA has also invested nearly $1.01 billion over the last five years to improve the electric transmission and distribution system on Long Island and to institute an aggressive tree trim program to clear away branches and trees that can bring down power lines.

"We must also give credit to the field personnel who have been out in the harsh weather, some overnight, working to restore power as soon as possible," said Governor Pataki.

LIPA serves 1.084 million customers in Nassau and Suffolk counties and the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens. Approximately 96% of LIPA customers did not suffer a loss of service as a result of Isabel.

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