Schumer Urges Feds To Investigate Long, Frequent Power Outages

WHITE PLAINS, NY — On the heels of Westchester, Putnam and the Hudson Valley being slammed by two almost back-to-back winter storms, Senator Charles E. Schumer, D-NY, Wednesday called on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to immediately launch a top-to-bottom investigation into why there have been constant long-lasting power outages in Westchester and Putnam after major storms year after year. Schumer said residents are sick and tired of excuses and demand an all hands on deck approach, which is why it is necessary the federal government’s chief agency with jurisdiction, FERC assist state and local agencies to uncover facts, assist counties in identifying problem, and come up with permanent solutions to prevent future widespread and long-lasting outages.

“The constant major power outages causing days of blackouts after storms like Riley and Quinn are unacceptable," the Senate minority leader said. "Something is very wrong here when these long-lasting blackouts are happening year after year. Whether it is a leadership issue, an infrastructure issue, a lack of manpower issue, or all of the above — the reality is this cannot continue any longer.”

“That is why today I am calling on FERC the top fed agency with jurisdiction, who oversees our power companies, to immediately launch a full-blown investigation to figure out what is going on with our power in Westchester County and throughout the Hudson Valley. Simply put, FERC must step-up to plate to assist state and local agencies to uncover all the facts, assist counties like Westchester in identifying problems, and most importantly come up with permanent solutions to prevent future outages," Schumer said.

Schumer was joined at the press conference by Westchester County Executive George Latimer, Assemblyman David Buchwald and impacted homeowner Christine Roithmayr of White Plains.

Latimer said he applauded Schumer for taking the matter seriously.

“The power outages that Westchester residents experienced in March were outrageous," he said. "The lack of communication from the utilities was inexcusable. I thank the Senator for calling on FERC and am eager to see what their investigation finds."

The only way to fix the outage problems going forward is to have a clear understand as to what went wrong in March,” Latimer said.

On March 2, New York was hit by a fatal winter storm; some areas of the state saw more than 3 feet of snow, along with brutal winds approaching nearly 60 miles per hour. Hurricane-force gusts grounded flights up and down the Northeast corridor and knocked down countless trees and power lines throughout the Hudson Valley region. Later that night more than 323,000 New Yorkers had lost power.

Just days later, on March 7, the region was pummeled by another strong winter storm, which resulted in blizzard-like conditions and knocked out power for more than a hundred thousand additional customers. Tragically, these storms were responsible for multiple deaths. In addition, while these storms resulted in widespread damage, dangerous roads, and conditions, downed trees, Schumer pointed out that once again there were a significant number of power outages across the Hudson Valley, particularity in Westchester County. Schumer said it is unacceptable when residents become accustomed to week-long power outages – which was the case last month.

Photo caption: Maine-based Lucas Tree Service cleaning up in Lake Carmel, NY, March 4, 2018. Photo credit: Valerie DeBenedette.