Sandy’s Blackouts Fall to 2.5 Million With New Jersey Worst Off | Benjamin Haas and Jim Polson

Nov. 4, 2012 (Bloomberg) -- Utility crews working around the clock restored power to more than a million homes and businesses yesterday, with New Jersey making up more than half of the 2.5 million still without electricity.

By the fifth day after Hurricane Sandy struck, power companies had brought back the lights to 70 percent of the 8.5 million customers who lost it in the storm’s destructive path. State officials voiced approval of the work accomplished, which included restoring power to most ofManhattan, while renewing warnings that utilities’ response to the crisis is being closely watched by regulators and lawmakers.

“I want to make sure from a consumer’s point of view the power is back up as quickly as possible and that these companies are doing all that they can do,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, said yesterday. “These are utilities that are regulated by the state, and consumers have the right to hold them accountable.”

Recovery progressed slowly in New Jersey, where Sandy came ashore near Atlantic City at 8 p.m. Oct. 29. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican, praised the “patience and resilience” of New Jerseyans and released a timeline yesterday of which neighborhoods should be restored over the next few days. He pledged to hold utilities to the schedule.

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