Over 8,500 Locals With No Power, 1 Week After Sandy

A week after the massive storm named Sandy tore through the tri-state area, thousands of residents remain without power.

NYSEG reported Sunday night that more than 3,100 front line and support personnel are on the job to restore power as quickly as possible.

“Because of the widespread damage from the storm, it has been a challenge to secure personnel to supplement our work force,” said Mark S. Lynch, president of NYSEG and RG&E. “But since the days before the storm hit, our emergency planners have been working on this challenge. Throughout the restoration effort, their work has paid off.  We continue to be committed to securing the optimal number of people to rebuild our electricity delivery system and restore service as quickly as possible.”

Over 14,000 Westchester County residents remained without power Sunday night. Though commerical areas in Katonah, Bedford Hills, Cross River—and as of Sunday night, Goldens Bridge and Bedford Village—have been restored, high concentrations of outages exist in the residential areas of South Salem, Bedford Village, Katonah and Pound Ridge.

Crews from Nova Scotia, Missouri, North Carolina, Texas and Minnesota arrived to bolster efforts in the area. Over 500 line and tree crews are now on the job, some that have been released from utilities and contractors across the country and from Canada, according to NYSEG's Sunday night press release.

town of Bedford officials said NYSEG had dedicated one crew to work with the town in Sandy recovery efforts. The National Guard was still working alongside highway crews to clear roads.

Con Ed currently has 670 homes without power in Bedford.

NYSEG officials are also watching the developing storm system that may bring rain, snow and wind to the region on Wednesday and Thursday. The company’s emergency planners are preparing for the possible impacts from this storm.

NYSEG said over 70 percent of customers in its Brewster Division, in which Northern Westchester is situated, have had service restored.

The company expects that "virtually all customers" will have power restored by midnight Wednesday, November 7. Some previously unknown damage or areas that remain inaccessible may extend restoration times.  

Click here for NYSEG estimated restoration times and here to follow NYSEG on Twitter.