Weather
Hearing On Hudson Valley Storm Response Postponed Due To Storm
Sens. Murphy and Serino have changed the date and moved it to Albany since another storm is due to hit the day before.
The storm response and preparedness hearing scheduled for Thursday in Somers has been postponed to March 27 in Albany. With yet another storm looming — winter storm warnings are up for the Hudson Valley — organizing Senators Terrence Murphy and Sue Serino said the last thing they want is to keep Con Edison and NYSEG from doing their jobs.
The hearing has been rescheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday in Hearing Room A at the Capital Building in Albany, New York.
"Another storm is headed toward the Hudson Valley. As a result, we are postponing our Senate hearing on the power outages," Murphy said in announcing the change. "Right now, it is more important for utility company to concentrate on making preparations for any emergencies that may happen in the next 48 hours. But make no mistake, they are not off the hook. The power companies will absolutely be held to account for their complete dysfunction after the last storms at next week's hearing."
Find out what's happening in Peekskill-Cortlandtfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Two of the three winter storms in early March knocked out power to nearly 160,000 homes and businesses in the Hudson Valley. Some customers of NYSEG, Con Edison, and Central Hudson were without power for as long as 10 days.
Residents and business owners have been calling their offices saying it took the utility companies too long to respond to and repair the widespread outages.
Find out what's happening in Peekskill-Cortlandtfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Murphy and Serino organized the hearing to explore whether the utility companies were prepared to manage the massive outages caused by the storm, and examine steps to ensure this sort of situation does not occur again.
"While this hearing is critically important, with yet another storm expected to hit the region in the coming days, our first priority needs to be ensuring that the needs of residents are met and we absolutely do not want to distract from that," said Serino. "Our community members deserve answers and by postponing this hearing to account for a potential weather system, we expect to have full participation from all involved this coming Tuesday."
PHOTO/ Con Edison
SEE: Hudson Valley Nor'easter: Winter Storm Warnings Issued
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