Long Island Power Outages: 650K Without Power

Long Island Power Authority crews working to restore power in East Northport on Wednesday. (Photo credit: Rashed Mian)

The number of LIPA customers without power dipped under 700,000 Thursday as the utility continues to concentrate its efforts on high-priority areas and debris removal following the mess left by Superstorm Sandy.

As of 5:19 p.m. on Thursday, the Long Island Power Authority reported 646,512 customers still in the dark.

Hurricane Sandy crippled the area earlier this week, downing hundreds of trees and power lines and knocking out power to more than 900,000 homes and businesses across LI.

The devastation has left hundreds of thousands wondering when electricity will be turned back on.

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LIPA has said that it could take a week to 10 days to get homes and businesses up and running again.

On Wednesday, LIPA Chief Operating Officer Michael Hervey said they would have a better determination of restoration once they asses all the damage Sandy left in its wake.

A record number of out-of-state utility workers were expected to descend on Long Island, some coming from as far away as Arizona.

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Hospitals, government buildings and nursing homes were just some of the facilities recognized as a priority.

“We have restored power to all but a few of the hospitals and are progressing efforts with nursing homes, schools and wastewater treatment facilities,” LIPA said on its website.

“Damage assessment is also key to our restoration effort,” the statement read. “Having good intelligence from the field positions us for a more efficient restoration process. Hundreds of our personnel have been patrolling our lines to survey the damage and provide reports that help direct our crews to the actual damage locations.”