PSEG Announces Energy Grid Improvements For Deer Park

DEER PARK, NY — PSEG Long Island has began work to improve reliability of the energy grid in Deer Park earlier this month, officials said on Thursday.

The storm hardening work on the distribution circuit is part of many system improvements included in the "Power On" program, PSEG Long Island said.

"We are working hard to reduce the number of outages that occur during severe weather by strengthening the electric lines that directly power homes and businesses," said Peggy Keane, PSEG Long Island’s vice president of Construction and Operations Services. "This Power On infrastructure improvement project in Deer Park is part of PSEG Long Island’s ongoing, multi-year effort to continue to improve electric reliability for customers."

According to a statement, the work began in mid-February and is expected to last around three months.

PSEG Long Island’s contractors will work along distribution lines in Deer Park. To ensure traffic moves safely, PSEG will provide cones, flaggers and signage at the worksites, as needed. Local officials will also be notified in advance regarding any potential traffic concerns.

According to PSEG Long Island, the storm-hardening improvements include:

• Stronger poles: PSEG Long Island will replace some existing utility poles with stronger, more durable poles that are capable of withstanding winds up to 135 mph. The new poles will be approximately the same height as the existing poles, have a stronger base and will be placed no more than 5 feet from the current pole locations. PSEG Long Island will actively coordinate the removal of old poles with other utilities and municipalities.
• Narrow profiles: To help wires deflect falling limbs instead of catching them, PSEG Long Island will be installing shorter cross arms atop some poles.
• Stronger wire: Current wire will be replaced with more resilient and durable wire.
• Upgrading: PSEG Long Island will upgrade or replace worn equipment as necessary.

Crews will be working on the following streets in Deer Park:

• Brook Avenue between Skidmore Road and North of Suburban Avenue
• Suburban Avenue east of Skidmore Road
• Suburban Avenue east of Brook Avenue
• Skidmore Road between Suburban Avenue and Sammis Avenue
• Sammis Avenue between Skidmore Road and Washington Avenue
• East of Brook Avenue and just south of Suburban Avenue
• Brook Avenue east of Morgan Avenue
• East of Brook Avenue and just south of De Kay Place

PSEG Long Island prepares year-round for extreme weather to maintain reliable service for around 1.2 million customers. Since 2014, the company has made significant investments in strengthening the electric infrastructure. Using funding from both FEMA and LIPA, PSEG Long Island has completed storm hardening and reliability work on more than 1,000 miles of distribution mainline circuits.

Power On, a program that started in the spring of 2020, continues the work now that the FEMA program has concluded. Since the launch of Power On, more than 401 miles of the most vulnerable distribution mainline and branch line circuits on Long Island and in the Rockaways have been storm hardened with stronger poles, thicker wire and other modern equipment.

These investments have strengthened the system so that fewer customers experience outages and, when they do occur, the duration is shorter, especially during extreme weather. Excluding catastrophic storms, the sections of circuits that PSEG Long Island has storm-hardened have seen a 28 percent reduction in damage leading to outages in 2024, compared with the rest of the distribution system.

Power On focuses on mainline circuits, the backbone of the distribution system. The main lines feed the many branch lines that power the homes and businesses in individual communities.