Lewiston, Porter go dark

Story and photo by Joshua Maloni
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, June 3, 2006

On Tuesday, about one hour after the Buffalo Sabres used a white shirt “Whiteout” to beat the Carolina Hurricanes, there was a blackout in northern Niagara County the likes of which haven’t been seen since Ben Franklin first flew his key kite.

At about 11:45 p.m., the transformer bank at the Swan Road substation, a National Grid unit, failed. Coming off one of the hottest days of the year – with temperatures surpassing 90 degrees – 5,600 residents in Lewiston and Porter found themselves sans air conditioning units.

Calls placed to the power company’s 1-800 number resulted in an automated message indicating workers were working, and that power was due back by 2:30 a.m.

That deadline lapsed, and the message was soon updated to say 6:30 a.m. At 7:36 a.m., power was restored to roughly half of the sudden dark-age dwellers. Following a night that saw the Sabres force a Game 7, residents in the Town of Lewiston were forced to wait seven hours-plus for the lights to go back on.

They were the lucky ones.

As Wednesday morning unfolded, more than 2,500 residents – not to mention businesses – in the river region were still sans electricity. At the Niagara Falls Country Club, where Artpark and Company staff were set to announce the venue’s summer season, President George Osborne and Chair Thomas J. Fatta were relegated to shouting the news, without the use of a microphone.

By Wednesday afternoon, companies like Rivershore Inc. on Cayuga Street in Lewiston were still dark. Office secretary Annette Laszewsky used a non-electric landline to field phone calls while staffers were unable to use computer equipment.

Later that afternoon, callers to Lewiston pizzerias, including Favorite’s, were left hungry, as many remained with cold pies and grounded chicken wings.

By 8 p.m., power was fully restored to all. However, at about 10:30 p.m., power went out again. Fortunately, it quickly returned and remained on Thursday.

National Grid spokesman Steven Brady said his company did not know what caused the transformer to stop working on Tuesday. He said a mobile unit from Angola would pinch-hit and power northern Niagara County residents while the permanent unit was investigated.

•Brady offered some tips for residents to follow in future powerless situations.

First, when the power goes out, feel free to get on the horn.

“They shouldn’t hesitate to call us,” he said.

Don’t, however, get in your car and ambulance chase electrical workers. Brady said such action served no purpose.

As for items in the refrigerator and freezer, Brady said most units were capable of withholding their frigid temperature for a sustained amount of time. Freezers, in fact, can go upwards of 24 hours without food being jeopardized. Of course, the less said units are opened in these cases, the better.

National Grid workers wasted no time in getting to and working on the failed Swan Road electrical substation.