Frustrated Residents Protest Outside Long Island Utility

By Mae Anderson

NEW YORK -- Even as the lights came on for many who lost power in New York and New Jersey during the superstorm and a later nor'easter, hundreds of residents protested Saturday outside a Long Island utility, frustrated by its slow response to outages.

Power restoration has been slower there than in other areas hit by Superstorm Sandy, sparking criticism of the Long Island Power Authority. Some of the 130,000 blacked out homes and businesses the utility serves may not have power restored until the end of Tuesday, according to LIPA.

In the rest of the region hardest hit by the storm, most service was expected to be restored by the end of the weekend, though that doesn't include tens of thousands of homes too damaged to juice up.

"We are sitting in a cold house. No one comes by," said John Mangin of Levittown, N.Y. "There should be criminal charges against the CEO and the executive board of LIPA for failure to do their jobs."

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He was among about 300 people staging a rally in front of LIPA's office in Hicksville, N.Y. Not all were without power, but some who have power said they were there to protest LIPA's lack of communication.

LIPA Chief Operating Officer Michael Hervey said the utility was aware that customers haven't gotten the information they've needed from it, partly because of an outdated information technology system it's in the process of updating.

"I certainly feel the frustration of customers whose power remains out. Our hearts go out to them," Hervey said.

But he said workers are repairing unprecedented storm damage as fast as they can. About 6,400 linemen and 3,700 tree trimmers are at work, compared with 200 linemen on a normal day.

In Suffolk County, where about 28,000 customers remain without power, County Executive Steven Bellone announced he was cutting ties with LIPA and would deal directly with substation coordinators.

Hervey said he would not comment on that directly, but added that an ad hoc takeover of the system would lead to anarchy.

"The utility is the best suited to restore power and manage that," he said. "We can't have people step in and take over."

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