Releases detailed information for customers who may require electrical surveys before power can be restored
(Uniondale, N.Y.) – LIPA and National Grid continue the massive effort to restore electricity to all customers and especially those customers in hard hit, flooded communities.
As of 11:00 this morning:
- Over 38,000 outages restored in past 24 hours
- 62,000 outages remain in Nassau and Suffolk County
- 99% of those who are able to receive power to be restored by end of Tuesday
- Although LIPA power available, up to 17,500 customers in Nassau and Suffolk and 37,500 customers in the Rockaways unable to safely receive power without customer repairs
Due to severe flooding from Hurricane Sandy, many homes and businesses have suffered water damage to electrical panels, wires, outlets, and appliances, making it potentially unsafe to restore electricity. LIPA is working with local jurisdictions to complete needed surveys to determine whether or not electric power can be delivered to customer homes without an inspection.
LIPA now has the ability to provide power to all of Suffolk, a large portion of the Rockaways, and all but a very few communities in Nassau. However, we estimate up to 55,000 customers may be unable to receive this power due to the extensive damage that requires repair by the property owner before service can be restored.
LIPA follows standard electric safety procedures to connect electric services. If any electrical wiring, receptacles, or equipment was submerged in water during the storm, you must hire a licensed electrician to repair the equipment prior to having it returned to service and produce an electrical inspection certificate before power can be restored.
In most cases, any electrical wiring that came into contact with salt water must be removed and replaced. Dried salt can be a conductor of electricity and cause an electrical fault or a fire. A licensed electrician may be able to disconnect affected wiring branches to allow equipment in the unaffected areas to return to service.
Post Hurricane Sandy Electrical Surveys (within flooded areas)
Nassau County (excluding the City of Long Beach, Atlantic Beach, Lido Beach, and Point Lookout) Survey teams are conducting visual assessments of homes and businesses within flooded areas along the south shore. In general, these areas are south of Atlantic Avenue, Merrick Road, and Montauk Highway.
These teams will be conducting visual assessments of homes and buildings to determine whether or not there is visible evidence of flood damage that may have affected the homeowner’s electrical equipment. There is no cost to the homeowner or business for this initial survey.
If you are not present when a survey team visits, information about rescheduling the survey will be left at your home or business.
If you prefer not to wait for a visit by a survey team, you may hire a licensed electrician or electrical inspection agency to perform an electrical inspection for you at your cost. If you choose this option, an electrical inspection certification must be submitted to LIPA, as more fully described below, whether or not repairs are required.
If the surveyor determines that your home or building does not demonstrate any visible evidence of flood damage that may have affected your electrical equipment, we will schedule your power to be turned on.
If the surveyor determines that your home or building demonstrates visible evidence of flood damage that may have affected your electrical equipment, you will be required to produce an electrical inspection certification from a licensed electrician or electrical inspection agency before your power can be restored.
All customers are free to obtain an electrical inspection prior to the restoration of power at any time.
Suffolk County Surveys have been completed. We continue to work with property owners on the reconnect process. For those properties where it has been determined that there is visible evidence of flood damage, an electrical inspection certification must be submitted to LIPA before power can be restored.
City of Long Beach, Atlantic Beach, Lido Beach, and Point Lookout LIPA is working closely with designated representatives from these communities who are assessing whether homes and businesses are safe to receive power, and notifying LIPA to restore power.
If you prefer not to wait for a visit by a survey team, you may hire a licensed electrician or electrical inspection agency to perform an electrical inspection for you at your cost. If you choose this option, an electrical inspection certification must be submitted to LIPA, as more fully described below, whether or not repairs are required.
If a surveyor determines that your home or building does not demonstrate any visible evidence of flood damage that may have affected your electrical equipment, we will schedule your power to be turned on.
If the surveyor determines that your home or building demonstrates visible evidence of flood damage that may have affected your electrical equipment, you will be required to produce an electrical inspection certification from a licensed electrician or electrical inspection agency before your power can be restored.
All customers are free to obtain an electrical inspection prior to the restoration of power at any time.
Rockaway Peninsula The NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) is inspecting buildings damaged by Hurricane Sandy and placing green, yellow or red placards on these buildings to let residents know about the condition of their building. Below are the meanings of the different placards:
- Red: Buildings tagged with a red placard are not safe to enter. Property is seriously damaged and is unsafe to enter or occupy.
- Yellow: Restricted use. Property is damaged; entry limitations are specified on each posting.
- Green: No restriction. No apparent structural hazards were observed; you are not restricted from entering and re-occupying your home.
In cases where no apparent structural hazards were observed to the buildings on a block, one green placard may have been posted in a prominent location on that block. If your home is on such a block and does not have a placard, this means your home has not been inspected or the inspections resulted in no apparent structural hazard to the buildings on that block. For further questions, please call 311.
Restoring Power to Homes with Green or Yellow DOB Placards If any electrical wiring, receptacles, or equipment was submerged in water during the storm, you must hire a NYC-licensed electrician to inspect the equipment prior to returning it to service. Note: In most cases, any electrical wiring that came into contact with salt water must be removed and replaced. Dried salt can be a conductor of electricity and cause an electrical fault or a fire. A licensed electrician may be able to disconnect affected wiring branches to allow equipment in the unaffected areas to return to service.
To expedite the normal submission process, a licensed electrical contractor should file a completed, signed and sealed Self-Certification Form directly with LIPA. Below are the key steps licensed electrical contractors should take:
- Have your electrical equipment inspected and, if necessary, cleaned and repaired by a licensed electrical contractor. The Self-Certification Form comes from contractor. They will have the form to submit to LIPA.
- Have your licensed electrical contractor submit the Self-Certification Form to LIPA by faxing it to 631-844-3643, emailing to servicecert@service.lipower.
org or delivering it to our temporary service center at Beach 108th Street and Beach Channel Drive in Rockaway Park. - Once a certification is submitted, LIPA will issue a service turn-on for your location; electric service will be restored when the LIPA system is able to do so. LIPA does the service turn-on internally. No action needs to be taken by customers.
Restoring Service to premises determined unsafe to Receive Electric Service If inspectors determine that the home or building is unsafe to receive electric service, you will be advised to hire a licensed electrician to make the necessary repairs. Once those repairs have been made, an electrical inspection certification must be submitted to LIPA. Once we receive this certification, we will schedule your power to be turned on.
Submitting Certification to LIPA that power can be safely restored You, your licensed electrician or electrical inspection agency can submit electrical inspection certification by fax at: 631-844-3643, or email at: servicecert@service.lipower.
Required electrical inspection certification can be in the form of:
- A letter from a licensed electrician on the electrician’s letterhead identifying the address of the inspected property and clearly stating that it is safe for LIPA to restore electric service. The electrician’s license number must also be included.
Or - An electrical inspection certificate from an approved electrical inspection agency approved to perform inspections in the municipality in which you reside
GAS AND ELECTRIC SAFETY
- Never touch downed power lines, and always assume that any fallen lines are live electric wires. If you see one, report it immediately to National Grid or your local emergency response organization.
- Children should not have access to portable heaters, electric or fuel powered. Do not burn anything in your home without providing good ventilation such as opening windows, doors and fireplace flumes. All heaters that run on fuel (kerosene, butane, oil) should be vented.
- As customers work on cleaning their homes and removing damaged equipment, they should use extreme caution in removing any appliances connected to the natural gas system as services may be active and gas could be in lines. Improper removal also could damage existing gas connections.
- Turn your refrigerator thermostat to its coldest setting and keep its doors closed.
- Customers with Generators Urged to Take Precautions. Customers who plan to use generators should be sure to follow all safety instructions including disconnecting their wiring system from LIPA’s system before operating the generator. Failure to do so could cause serious injury – or worse – to crews working to restore power.
- Never, under any circumstances, use a generator indoors and be sure to keep it a safe distance from a home or business. Deadly carbon monoxide fumes can enter through an open window, door or other space.
- Customers should note that without electricity, electric pilots do not work thus giving the impression they have no gas when they turn on the appliance and it does not light off the electric pilot light.
- Without electricity, electric pilots on stoves do not work thus causing an odor of gas to be emanated from the appliance when it’s not lit off from the electric pilot. This is not a gas leak. The gas odor is due to the customer turning on the gas which is not igniting due to the absence of an electric pilot.
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