"..More than 942,000 of LIPA's 1.1 million customers - 83% - were without power as of 1 p.m. Tuesday, far surpassing the 1985 record of 750,000 after Hurricane Gloria.".."
Damage to the regional electric backbone and other critical customers means that it could be "a few days or more" before the more than 1,200 repair crews are seen in neighborhoods doing repairs, LIPA's chief operating officer Michael Hervey said in an interview. LIPA expects full restoration to take at least 10 days, "and very possibly more," he said.
In all, 21 of the region's 27 hospitals have lost all or partial power from the grid, and they will be among the first to see repair crews, Hervey said. Of the total, 15 hospitals have their own generators, he said.
LIPA will also give priority to the extensive damage done to the transmission system in the wake of Sandra, including the roughly one-third of substations that have damaged or disconnected high-voltage lines from the area's power plants. A substation routes stepped-down power to neighborhood distribution networks. "We have several substations that do not have power to them," he said.
"This will go down as perhaps the largest disaster in Long Island history," Hervey said, noting the flooding, wind damage and the cumulative effect on the electric and other infrastructure.
While LIPA crews are only beginning to assess the damage, they are also working with local and county governments to help with the thousands of downed trees that require clearance from electric system where they have fallen on wires."."