Veridian crew on Long Island assisting in power restoration efforts

AJAX, ON, Nov. 5, 2012 /CNW/ - Early Saturday morning Veridian dispatched a crew of eight experienced linepersons and five of its utility vehicles to Long Island, N.Y. to assist in the power restoration efforts currently underway across the U.S. northeast in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The crew arrived safely Saturday evening at the requested staging area, and began their restoration efforts early Sunday morning alongside other linepersons from as far away as California, Washington and Arizona.

According to Peter Petriw, Veridian's Vice President of Engineering, "Veridian's crew will be working with Long Island Power Authority and National Grid to help restore service to their 370,000 customers who remain without power. This number includes approximately 100,000 customers in severely flooded areas, where homes and businesses may currently be unable to receive power."

As of 6 a.m. this morning, Long Island Power Authority and their restoration workforce has restored service to more than 694,000 customers who lost power due to Hurricane Sandy; leaving 275,000-plus customers still without power. Restoration efforts continue around the clock, seven days a week, with some 11,000 workers dedicated to the effort. Power to tens of thousands of customers is being restored daily, and it's expected that 90 per cent of customers will have power by Wednesday, November 7.

"During natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy, it's vital to provide whatever assistance we can to other utilities - whether it is local or south of the border - to help get the power back on," said Veridian Chair Doug Dickerson. "Veridian has a long tradition of helping other utilities during catastrophic events, and I'm pleased that we're able to offer the services of an extremely dedicated and professional crew to lend support to power restoration work on Long Island. On behalf of Veridian's Board of Directors, I would like to thank the crew and wish them a safe return."

"I'm very proud of our crew, who without hesitation, volunteered their time and expertise to work in some very difficult and unfamiliar conditions," said company President and CEO Michael Angemeer. "They have given up their personal time - away from family and friends - to help those in need, which speaks to the character of these individuals and the company as a whole."

Petriw expects that some non-critical construction projects in Veridian's service area may be delayed due to the deployment of staff to Long Island, but maintains that this will have no effect on local reliability, service levels or the company's commitments to its customers. "We have more than adequate staff remaining to provide our usual levels of system reliability for customers," he explained. "While providing support to storm stricken areas is important, we are always very aware that we do not jeopardize local service in the process."

The restoration crew is comprised of staff from some of Veridian's service area, including Ajax, Belleville and Clarington. Arrangements have been made for the crew to stay for up to two weeks, after which time if they're still needed a second crew will be deployed, replacing the first crew.

Veridian Connections Inc. safely and reliably delivers electricity to more than 115,000 customers in the Cities of Pickering and Belleville, the Towns of Ajax, Port Hope and Gravenhurst, and the communities of Uxbridge, Bowmanville, Newcastle, Orono, Port Perry, Beaverton, Sunderland and Cannington. Veridian Connections Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Veridian Corporation. The City of Pickering, the Town of Ajax, the Municipality of Clarington and the City of Belleville jointly own Veridian Corporation.

SOURCE: Veridian

Chris Mace
Sales & PR Representative - Corporate Communications
Veridian Connections Inc.
905-427-9870, extension 2218