ALBANY – The state Department
of Public Service has notified the chief executives of the state’s
major utility companies that it has begun to investigate the preparedness
of and response to two early March nor-easters.
Over 590,000 homes and businesses lost power as a result of the storms,
some for as long as 10 days.
The reviews will examine the performance of all seven major electric utilities
in New York – Con Edison, National Grid, NYSEG, RG&E, Orange
and Rockland, Central Hudson and PSEG Long Island.
The investigation includes an evaluation under the Public Service Commission’s
emergency response scorecard, a regulatory tool developed following Superstorm
Sandy to gather data and assess utility performance.
Utility filings of scorecard data are due in 30 days.
The investigations come under the direction of the governor.
