Frequently Asked Questions
Questions regarding power outages and storm related outages.
- What is a power outage?
- What is a momentary interruption?
- What do I do with my food after an extended power outage?
- How does weather affect power lines?
- Why doesn't LIPA put all its power lines underground?
- How does LIPA prepare for storms?
What is a power outage?
A power outage occurs anytime there is a loss of electricity;
momentarily or for a longer period of time. Studies show that
the top four causes of power outages in our area are:
- Storms (lightning, high winds, ice, snow and rain)
- Trees and branches (contacting electric lines)
- Accidents (cars hitting poles)
- Equipment failure (from corrosion, wear and aging parts)
- The protective relay equipment on our power lines works like the circuit breakers in your home and safely and automatically cuts off power.
Automatically shutting off the power means everyone who is fed electricity by that part of the network loses power. Once we locate the trouble spot, many customers can be restored to service even as repairs are being completed.
What is a momentary interruption?
Many times contact with a power line only lasts a fraction of
a second and our relay system automatically restarts the flow
of electricity. Today a split-second loss of power is sometimes
just enough to upset sensitive digital equipment and home computers.
Usually, these interruptions will not damage your sensitive
equipment, however, it is a good idea to install surge suppression
equipment to protect sensitive electronics. Protect your sensitive
electronics,
learn how.
What do I do with my food after an extended
power outage?
Please visit our Food Preservation section.
How does weather affect power lines?
Long Island is surrounded by water and has many wooded areas.
Many of our established neighborhoods have large trees planted
years – even decades – ago that now envelope the power lines.
This puts our electric system at risk for storms and damage
caused by falling branches and trees.
Storms can wreak havoc on our electric system. Because Long Island has so many trees growing near power lines, ice, wind, and heavy rain can make tree branches sag or fall on LIPA wires causing power outages.
Why doesn't LIPA put all its power lines
underground?
Placing electric wires underground would reduce the total numbers
of outages, but at a very high cost to customers. Such a massive
project would take over 30 years to complete at an estimated
cost of $25 billion. In addition, problems with underground
cables take two to three times longer to locate and repair than
overhead wires. Where practical, we do install underground cable
in new housing developments.
