Bishop Announces $12.7 Million for Long Island Power Authority for Irene Recovery Efforts

Press Release

U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, and Congressmen Steve Israel and Tim Bishop today announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is awarding more than $12.7 million to reimburse the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) for repairs to the Electrical Power Transmission and Distribution System to repair damages caused by Hurricane Irene.

"This is great news for Long Island," said Schumer. "Hurricane Irene left many parts of Long Island without power, but this funding will go a long way towards reimbursing LIPA for the costs it took to repair the damage after the storm."

"Long Island took some of the very worst of Hurricane Irene, leaving families and businesses in the dark without power,"Senator Gillibrand said. "And even though this massive storm is almost a full year behind us, much of the damage is still here. This grant will help our effort to continue rebuilding so families and businesses on Long Island can get back on their feet."

"Our region took a hit from Hurricane Irene, and many local businesses and families lost power," said Rep. Steve Israel. "The response from the federal, state and county levels has aided recovery efforts tremendously. I'm grateful for the efforts of the emergency response professionals at all levels, and I'm grateful for this grant, which will help reimburse LIPA for their work to repair the damage."

"This federal aid will help offset the cost of restoring power after Hurricane Irene, sharply reducing the burden on LIPA customers," said Congressman Tim Bishop. "I fought hard for federal aid after this devastating storm, and FEMA's response shows a strong commitment to Long Island taxpayers."

Hurricane Irene left more than 500,000 outages affecting approximately half of LIPA's customers on Long Island. This FEMA public assistance grant for public utility repair totals $12,736,634 and will help repair damages to the Authority's transmission and distribution system.

The funding from FEMA covers 75 percent of the total repair project cost for this project.