State Hearing on Utilities’ Storm Response to Be Held Thursday
The state Assembly and Senate is holding a joint hearing Thursday morning to listen to testimony on the power and communications outages caused by the recent Tropical Storm Isaias and the utilities’ emergency response plans.
The hearing, which will be streamed live at 11 a.m., will gather information on utility and telecommunication provider storm preparedness, the pre-storm steps taken to protect the electric distribution grid and critical telecommunications infrastructure and the causes of the outages and service disruptions.
It will also address the reasons behind the lengthy post-storm repair, restoration of service and re-connection of customers; the extent of coordination between utility and telecommunication providers and municipalities in restoring service; and the reasons for the loss of customer service communication during and after the storm.
Speakers have been invited to deliver testimony for this hearing. A future hearing is anticipated to be scheduled for members of the public to participate.
Tropical Storm Isaias struck the metropolitan area on Aug. 4, leaving more than 120,000 customers in Westchester alone without power, some for up to a week, prompting calls by local, county and state officials for the utilities to face consequences for the poor response.
To watch the hearing live, visit https://www.nysenate.gov/calendar/public-hearings/august-20-2020/joint-public-hearing-address-emergency-storm-response-and.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/