PSEG-Long Island announced Monday that it will reimburse customers for any food and medicines that spoiled during the power outage that affected hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers earlier this month when Tropical Storm Isaias passed over the Island.
According to PSEG, Isaias reportedly knocked out power for over 420,000 customers on Long Island and the Rockaways –– making it the most destructive storm to hit the region since 2012, when Superstorm Sandy swept across New York.
"We recognize that losing power in August, together with the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, was a hardship for many of our customers," said Daniel Eichhorn, PSEG-Long Island president and chief operating officer. "Given the unique combination of circumstances, we believe the right thing to do is to expand our claims process to ease the burden on the customers most impacted by Tropical Storm Isaias."
The company pledged to pay back residential customers up to $250 and commercial customers up to $5,000 for food spoilage if they lost power for at least 72 hours between Aug. 4 and Aug. 12.
Residential customers filing food spoilage claims of $150 or less must include an itemized list. For any claim over $150, customers must include an itemized list and proof of loss, including receipts, canceled checks, or photographs of spoiled items.
Customers are also granted up to a $300 reimbursement for prescription medication. They must also include an itemized list including proof of loss.
To apply for reimbursement, customers can visit PSEG online at psegliny.com/claims. The reimbursement claims cannot be processed over the phone.
Customers will have until Sept. 16 to file their claims. Reimbursement is expected to take up to 60 business days from when a proper claim form is completed and submitted to PSEG.
