U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $1,192,311 in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding for the Rockville Centre Electrical after Superstorm Sandy. The utility worked to restore service to Village customers within Rockville Centre’s electric operational area in the wake of the storm’s arrival.
“Superstorm Sandy wreaked significant damage throughout the Village of Rockville Centre, destroying more than 30 utility poles and damaging critical electrical wires,” said Schumer. “This federal reimbursement for Rockville Centre Electrical is critical in making sure that Long Islanders are not entirely on the hook for these expenses and I am pleased that this funding is being provided.”
“The Village of Rockville Centre was hit hard by Superstorm Sandy, with serious damage to the community’s electrical distribution,” Gillibrand said. “This necessary reimbursement is an important step as we continue to meet New York’s needs to recover and rebuild.”
Rockville Centre Mayor Francis X. Murray said, “On behalf of our residents, I am extremely grateful to Senator Schumer and Senator Gillibrand and our Congressional delegation for their efforts on behalf of our Village. Like other communities on Long Island and the tri-state area, Super Storm Sandy caused a great deal of damage to our infrastructure and the costs for repairs were significant. This reimbursement by FEMA will prevent us from having to look to our residents and merchants to carry the burden.”
Superstorm Sandy destroyed over 30 utility poles and as a result, this disrupted the electrical distribution throughout the Village of Rockville Centre. A total of 108 major damage sites were reported by the Village of Rockville Centre. The utility had to construct, reconstruct or replace destroyed and damaged components of their electrical distribution system. This includes, but is not limited to, overhead line construction, to which the majority of all lines in the Village run in three phase wire, implying there would be a larger amount of wire consumed and higher costs to repair and restore the electrical infrastructure to pre-disaster conditions. The approximate amount of damage wire which had to be replaced was 30,000 LF. Additionally, the utility had to install and upgrade transformers, replace cable village-wide, replace poles, and replace transformers on distribution circuits.