A Montauk resident says he is not happy with a potential site for a new power substation in Montauk that may be built near his home.
PSEG Long Island and LIPA has been looking to buy land where they can build the substation so it can meet the electricity needs in the area. Officials say the new substation is needed to replace an older, less reliable one in the area to prevent outages during storms.
One of those sites is 6 acres of land along Flamingo Avenue near the Montauk water tower. It’s also near Shaun De Jesus’ home.
He says the whole process has been behind closed doors and without public input. He wants an explanation from the town of East Hampton and PSEG Long Island on why the site is being considered.
“Once the land is purchased, there is nothing the public can do other than opine on how to potentially screen the land. And that's not adequate enough, unfortunately,” says De Jesus.
PSEG Long Island told News 12 that nothing is final. In a statement, the company says, "PSEG Long Island is still evaluating sites that could accommodate a new substation to satisfy East Hampton's growing electric reliability demand."
De Jesus says he has started a petition on Change.org to try to stop the substation. So far, it has more than 700 signatures.