LIPA: July 8 Power Outage Caused by Heat Wave

Over a month after a massive power surge and outage struck a part of Babylon Village, LIPA admitted to The Babylon Beacon that the event was caused by high temperatures in the middle of a heat wave.

The Beacon reports the outage, which took place on July 8, hit an area from Trolley Line Road to Little East Neck Road and much of the Frederick Shores area. Residents told Patch in July they lost everything from outlets to desktop computers, high-definition televisions and more.

“The outage occurred during this summer’s heat wave when there was a high demand for electricity,” LIPA media spokesperson Elizabeth Flagler told The Beacon. Before that, LIPA and National Grid had only ever noted the event had been under investigation and neither company declined to further comment.

The outage came in the middle of this summer’s first heat wave, when temperatures soared above 90 degrees for several days in a row.

Many of the homes affected by the outage and surge were also impacted in some shape or form by Hurricane Sandy in October, leaving many residents hit twice in less than one year by major losses.

“LIPA should fully compensate homeowners and businesses who suffered damages resulting from the electrical power surge that hit areas of Babylon Village on July 8,” New York State Sen. Phil Boyle said to The Beacon. “For some homeowners who were affected, it was a case of adding insult to injury because many had just replaced appliances they lost during Superstorm Sandy. 

"My constituents deserve to have their damages covered for this unfortunate incident; I expect LIPA to pay in full.”