'We are living like animals'

11-12-2012 • dailymail, By Reuters Reporter and Damian Ghigliot

The trail of devastation left by Hurricane Sandy has been long and trying for those still overcoming setbacks.

An estimated 300 residents in Hicksville, Long Island, took to the street on Saturday protesting the Long Island Power Authority at its headquarters for ongoing power outages 12 days after the storm hit the area -- the second protest against the energy provider this weekend.

There are still over a quarter million New York customers without power. As of Friday more than 170,000 of those customers were on Long Island, many of them staying in temporary shelters.

More than 500 angry LIPA customers in Oceanside staged a similar protest at a LIPA news conference on Friday saying the energy provider was giving them the run-around and they wanted to know why, CBS reported.

Many of the protestors were chanting 'LIPA sucks.'

Electric utilities have taken heat for being slow to restore power throughout the region. For a large number of those without power, no electricity means no heat, hot water or hot meals.