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Power companies: Post-Sandy reinforcement kept lights on during blizzard

Upgrades include hardened infrastructure, tree trimming, wire replacement and installation of smart switches.

By Shawn Selby | Updated on February 04, 2016
Rafael Panavala, an employee with Asplundh Tree Service, prunes branches off a tree in Plandome Heights, N.Y., on Jan. 27. The electric utility PSEG Long Island hires contractors such as Asplundh to perform tree trimming annually on trees in an effort to prevent power outages during snowstorms and other severe weather. (Photo: Frank Eltman/AP Photo)

Electric utilities that spent billions of dollars hardening infrastructure after Superstorm Sandy hit New York and New Jersey in 2012 say those upgrades helped keep the lights on during the Jan. 22-24 blizzard, the Associated Press reported.

Consolidated Edison, which serves 3 million customers in New York City and its northern suburbs, reported that only 4,500 customers lost power. On Long Island, where Atlantic storms have a history of playing havoc with overhead power lines, utility PSEG Long Island reported that fewer than 30,000 of its 1.1 million customers had an outage.

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