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More than 420,000 Long Islanders lost power during the tropical storm, with some having to wait eight days before the outages were repaired.
In response, the utility company said it will be expanding its claims policy so customers who faced electrical service outages for at least 72 hours can be reimbursed for spoiled food, medication, or perishable commercial supplies.
PSEG will reimburse residential customers for up to $250, and commercial customers up to $5,000.
Food spoilage claims of $150 or less must include an itemized list, while food spoilage of more than $150 must include an itemized list and proof of loss such as cash register tapes, store or credit card receipts, canceled checks, or photographs of spoiled items.
Separately, customers will be reimbursed for losses, of up to a maximum of $300, for prescription medications that spoiled due to lack of refrigeration.
Requests for reimbursement must be filed before Wednesday, Sept. 16. Claims cannot be processed over the phone.
"PSEG Long Island answered our demands to reimburse residents and businesses for spoiled food and medications," Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said. "While we are not done fighting, this is a good first step to making amends."
To qualify for reimbursement, customers:
- Must be a PSE&G or PSEG Long Island customer of record as of Tuesday, Aug. 4;
- The outage must have lasted longer than 72 hours anytime during the time period of Aug. 4, and Thursday, Aug. 12;
- The outage must have been caused by Tropical Storm Isaias;
- Medications must have been prescribed and in the name of the customer of record or member of the household.
“We recognize that losing power in August, together with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, was a hardship for many of our customers,” PSEG Long Island President and COO Daniel Eichhorn said.
“Given the unique combination of circumstances, we believe the right thing to do is to expand our claims process to ease the burden for those customers who endured extended outages because of Tropical Storm Isaias.”
Forms to file a claim can be found here.
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