(Updated -5 p.m.) Power was restored downtown at about 4:45 p.m.
Main Street in Riverhead is in the dark this afternoon.
Power went out at about 2:40 p.m. according to Main Street merchants.
The stores and traffic lights along Main Street are without power. The PSEG-Long Island online outage map says 127 customers are affected — up from the 58 it originally said were out. Estimated restoration time, initially put at 3:45 p.m. is now 7 p.m., according to the PSEG website.
“It’s the same thing that happened in May,” said Diggers Ales and Eats owner Steve Wirth. He said he called PSEG and was told by a customer service representative that a transformer in a vault blew.
“They told me it would be back in about an hour,” he said. “I hope so.” Wirth said Diggers had “a full house that’s just about emptied out now.”
The May outage struck on a Friday at 11:30 a.m. Power was not restored until 7:30 that evening. Businesses, especially restaurants, took a big hit. The cause of that outage was a blown transformer in a vault, according to the utility.
A PSEG media representative did not immediately return a phone call today seeking comment.
Robert James Salon and Spa owner Ray Pickersgill said he was probably going to close up. “What can you do?” he asked, exasperated. He had customers in the shop getting haircuts when the power suddenly went out
Riverhead Town Police officers are controlling traffic at intersections on Main Street.
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