Superstorm Sandy walloped the electric grid. Could it happen again? 

Superstorm Sandy packed a historic wallop for the Long Island electric system.

Ninety percent of LIPA’s customers, 945,000 of its 1.1 million ratepayers, were left in the dark, and a second nor’easter the following week took out thousands more. Dozens of hospitals, hundreds of schools, even gas stations went dark.

Sandy hit Long Island almost 10 years ago, Oct. 29-30, 2012.

Forty-four LIPA substations — critical connection points between power plants and neighborhoods — were knocked offline, some swamped by floodwaters. Up to 100,000 homes inundated by storm surge needed to be inspected by a newly deputized legion of electricians before LIPA could turn on the power, further delaying the response.

Thousands of repair crews, some flown in from as far away as California, had to deal with 37,000 outage locations — a record for Long Island and roughly double the number of repair spots that resulted from Hurricane Gloria in 1985, when 78% of the customer base lost power. LIPA said it took 17 days to restore all customers' power, and the cost was the largest in the utility’s history: more than $700 million.

Ten years later, LIPA said it has a system that is more “resilient” and reliable than ever, more ready for storms than it was even two years ago, when Tropical Storm Isaias showed that PSEG Long Island’s management and a recent computer system upgrade were the weakest links to a quick and orderly restoration. That storm left 535,000 customers without power for up to a week and deeply scarred the LIPA-PSEG relationship.

“We’re in a much better place than we’ve ever been before,” said LIPA chief executive Tom Falcone, of the result provided by billions of dollars in system repairs since Sandy. He cautioned, however: “I don’t think this is one of those things where you can ever say you’re done.”

LIPA benefited not only from $700 million in FEMA funds to pay for the restoration but another $729 million in storm hardening to prepare the system for the future and worsening storms. The federally funded project, which included installing automated equipment to help isolate outages, recently concluded, but LIPA has continued self-funding storm hardening with $70 million in annual upgrades and maintenance. LIPA has applied for another $350 million to $400 million in federal storm-hardening funds in the aftermath of Isaias.

Some of the original $729 million went to raise substations so that they’re above the expected tidal surge levels and are better able to resist saltwater corrosion. Of the 44 substations originally knocked offline during the storm, seven were elevated, and all were fortified with stronger protections from flooding and severe weather, LIPA said. 

The work hasn’t always been welcomed.

When it first took on the LIPA contract in 2014 from National Grid, which had the contract during Superstorm Sandy, PSEG Long Island got to work installing thicker, taller poles, often in residential neighborhoods, to help better resist the impacts of strong winds from storms. It led to customer outrage in places such as Port Washington and East Hampton. In Eastport, where PSEG replaced wooden poles with taller steel poles, the outcry grew so loud that PSEG was forced to take down a mile-long stretch of the poles and put the line underground.

Storm-hardening programs in Sandy’s aftermath also resulted in more than 26,000 new utility poles and 45,000 bigger, stronger poles. Some 14 million feet of new wire was installed across the system, with more than 1,000 miles of the distribution system hardened across the service territory.

Not all customers are believers

Not all customers are buying the utility’s assurances of a better-prepared system. Tens of thousands have invested in generators to have them ready the next time the power goes out.

Marian Goldstein, a Baldwin Harbor resident who was without power for weeks after the storm, put in a whole-house generator that turns on automatically when the power goes out.

“I’m terrified that if the power goes out it will be like the last time,” she said. “I still have PTSD. My den filled up and the water went up to the next floor. The cars were beginning to explode. I dream about it at nighttime. My home looked just like Niagara Falls …"

Some worry that all the preparation for storms may not be enough. Future storms, combined with rising sea levels and unprecedented storm surges, could make the best preparations inadequate, State Sen. John Brooks (D-Seaford) said.

“If we were smart, we’d have scientists now calculating where sea-level rise and surge is going to be 10 years out,” he said. “We should be telling people, 'You’re going to have to raise your home, fill in your basement [with concrete], or take other steps, because there’s no way we’re going to restore power if water comes in the basement.'”

Residents across the South Shore experienced that during Sandy, leading to a scramble to get homes pumped out and equipment certified by electricians to be able to restore power.

Trees were the problem

In other areas, and particularly in North Shore neighborhoods, trees were the problem. LIPA and PSEG have accelerated trimming, and a number of potentially troublesome trees were cut away entirely.

Falcone said the utility is also piloting a program to selectively bury power lines in neighborhoods where it’s harder than most to access lines when power is knocked out — a big problem during Sandy. Many homes, notably in Nassau County, have power lines in their yards, meaning crews had to carry in equipment, and in some cases hand-dig holes for poles, to make a repair. In those cases, the greater cost of putting a line underground could help the utility keep the lights on and potentially save money.

Outgoing State Sen. Jim Gaughran (D-Northport) said the problem may be more fundamental. “The problem we’ve had with PSEG is that they are a New Jersey-based company, and when we get a storm of significant magnitude, Long Island and New Jersey both get hit,” he said. “The priority seems to go to New Jersey.”

LIPA’s new contract with PSEG makes computer systems, leadership and staff Long Island-centric, which could help resolve problems seen during Isaias. The company has new computer systems in place, new storm contingency plans and a new performance-based contract to make sure there’s a big difference between what happened in 2012 and what may happen in the future.

PSEG says its computer, communications and other systems have been successfully tested, and that it’s ready for the next big storm. 

But PSEG's time may be running out. PSEG’s contract expires in 2025, and lawmakers have begun work on a new commission that could make LIPA a fully public utility.

“I think what we have now is the worst of all options,” Gaughran said.

The big question: Can a fully public LIPA do a better job?

Falcone said with overall reliability improved based on investment, and computer and communication systems on the mend, he’s convinced the problems that dogged LIPA during Sandy won’t be nearly as bad should a similar storm hit in the future.

In the end, he said, “Customers especially want reliable power and good communications during these events.”

“I don’t know if they’d have been throwing ticker tape parades” for the utility, but “they’ll give you the benefit of the doubt,” Falcone added.

By Mark Harrington

mark.harrington@newsday.comMHarringtonNews

Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.