PSEG Long Island says it will remove 80-foot steel utility poles that it installed in Eastport, following pushback from the community and a lawsuit from the town.

About 200 poles went up in the spring of 2017. PSEG had said they were installed to ensure that power would stay on during storms.

But residents immediately complained, arguing that the poles were out of character with the community. The Town of Brookhaven filed a lawsuit over the issue.

PSEG says it's agreeing to remove 24 of the steel poles along a nearly 1-mile stretch of Eastport Manor Road between Sunrise Highway and Montauk Highway. It will bury the electric wires instead.

PSEG Long Island says the project is expected to completed sometime next year. The estimated cost is between $9 million and $13.5 million, and the utility says those funds will come from its existing capital budget.

Other poles that were installed along County Road 51 will remain in place.

A spokesperson for PSEG Long Island says the project will not result in a rate increase. Instead, funds will come from the utility's existing capital budget.