Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday that two utility companies, RG&E and NYSEG, came to a $10.5 million settlement with New York state over failure to “adequately prepare for 2018 winter storms.”
According to the governor’s office, last year’s storms left more than 3000,000 RG&E and NYSEG customers in the dark. This $10.5 million settlement is the largest ever for “failure to follow utility emergency response plan.”
“It is beyond unacceptable to leave hundreds of thousands of customers in the dark for as long as these utilities did last year,” Cuomo said in a press release. “This settlement makes crystal clear that utilities in New York have an obligation to prepare for severe weather and to develop robust storm response programs, and if they fail to adequately do that job we will hold them accountable and force them to change how they do business.”
As part of the settlement, both utility companies are required to develop more robust storm response programs, enhance communication and coordination with county governments and other relevant municipalities, and strength support for people on life-saving equipment.
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