State lawmakers and the Public Service Commission (PSC) faced off Monday over the PSC?s handling of last summer?s massive power outage that left many Westchester and Hudson Valley residents, as well as New York City residents, in the dark.

In September 2006, Tropical Storm Ernesto left tens of thousands of residents without power, some for nearly a week. Lawmakers are now putting pressure on the PSC, a state agency that regulates all utility services, to make sure Con Edison is held accountable for the outages last summer. Con Edison officials say poor infrastructure and lack of communication led to a system breakdown. They add they did everything they could under the circumstances.

Those who suffered through the outages have been able to speak out at several public hearings held by the PSC. PSC officials say the commission wants to hold off on the Con Edison hearings until all public comment is completed. Meanwhile, lawmakers say they are done waiting and want the PSC to investigate Con Edison?s handling of the outages immediately to prevent future massive outages.

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