PSEG Begins Energy Grid Improvements For Deer Park

DEER PARK, NY — PSEG Long Island is working to improve the reliability of the energy grid in Deer Park, officials have announced.

The storm hardening work on this distribution circuit is part of many system improvements included in the "Power On" program.

"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," said Peggy Keane, PSEG Long Island’s vice president of Construction and Operations Services. "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."

The work began in mid-May and is expected to last approximately two months. PSEG Long Island’s licensed and approved contractors will work along distribution lines in Deer Park. To ensure traffic moves safely, PSEG Long Island will provide cones, flaggers and signage at the worksites, as needed. Local officials will also be notified in advance regarding any potential traffic concerns.

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 around the same height as the existing poles, have a stronger base and be placed no more than 5 feet from the current pole locations. PSEG will coordinate the removal of old poles.
• 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 De Kay Place and Bay Shore Road
• Skidmore Road between Brook Road and De Kay Place

PSEG Long Island prepares year-round for extreme weather to maintain reliable service for approximately 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 420 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, from the first quarter of 2024 through the first quarter of 2025, the sections of circuits that PSEG Long Island has storm-hardened have seen a 39 percent reduction in damage leading to outages, 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.