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National Grid restores power to nearly 180,000 upstate customers impacted by damaging windstorm; WNY outages will continues into Monday

Submitted

Sun, Dec 12th 2021 05:45 pm

24-hour restoration efforts continue; public asked to exercise caution when driving near utility and storm-response personnel

National Grid provided the following update Sunday afternoon:

National Grid’s upstate New York field force of more than 3,400 workers has restored power to nearly 180,000 of the approximately 215,000 customers impacted by the powerful windstorm that swept across the region Saturday through Sunday morning. The storm, which included gusts of up to 80 mph in some areas, brought significant and widespread damage to the company’s electricity delivery system, leaving behind at least 225 broken utility poles, 100 damaged transformers and hundreds of toppled trees, tree limbs and downed wires.

Among the hardest-hit were areas along the shores of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, including Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Monroe, Oswego, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties. Crews have been working around the clock since the storm began to restore power as quickly and safely as possible.

The company is providing the following general estimated times of restoration for customers who remain without service. Power is being consistently restored to customers in these regions. ETRs are updated on the company’s “Outage Central” site. Additionally, customers can check on the power restoration estimate for their specific address by logging into the “Report or Check an Outage” page.

√ Eastern New York: Restoration will be complete by 11:30 p.m.

√ Central New York, including the North Country: Restoration will be complete for 90% of the affected customers by 6 p.m. Monday.

√ Western New York: Restoration will be complete for 90% of affected customers by 11:30 p.m. Monday.

The company’s extensive resources, which include support from National Grid New England crews as well as crews from North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, Michigan, Indiana, Virginia and Ontario, will remain in the region until the last outage is repaired.

“This storm has been extremely damaging to our electricity system,” said Matt Barnett, vice president of New York electric operations. “We understand the inconvenience of being without power, and our crews will continue to be out there in full force bringing service back to customers as quickly as possible.”

National Grid is offering customers dry ice and bottled water from noon to 4 p.m. Monday, Dec. 13, at the locations below. Company personnel will provide information on the proper handling of dry ice, and customers are asked to bring a small cooler or shopping bag to transport their dry ice. The dry ice location also can be found on National Grid’s “Outage Central” map.

Western New York dry ice and bottled water locations:

√ Genesee County

City of Batavia Fire Department, 18 Evans St., Batavia

Erie County

√ Town of Amherst Community Center, 4255 Harlem Road, Amherst

Central New York dry ice and bottled water locations:

√ Franklin County

Paul Smiths-Gabriels Volunteer Fire Department, 68 State Route 86, Gabriels

Lewis County

√ Jefferson Community College Extension Campus, 7395 East Road, Lowville

St. Lawrence County

√ Canton Fire Department, 77 Riverside Drive, Canton

Niagara County

√ City of Niagara Falls Firehouse No. 8, 320 Hyde Park Blvd., Niagara Falls

Jefferson County

√ Watertown CitiBus Garage, 544 Newell St., Watertown

Oswego County

√ Oswego Fire Dept (back parking lot), 35 E. Seneca St., Oswego

Restoration Process

National Grid said, “The company’s first priority is to ensure the safety of our customers and our crews by clearing away dangers such as live, downed power lines. Next come repairs to main transmission facilities, including towers, poles and high-tension wires that deliver power to thousands of customers. Recovery work at local substations also is a high priority, followed by repairs to neighborhood circuits, transformers and service wires.

Estimated Restoration Times

National Grid noted:

√ In the early stages of a storm, the restoration times on National Grid’s “Outage Central” site may be listed as “assessing conditions.” This is because debris such as trees, tree limbs and downed wires must be cleared away so that damage to equipment can be assessed and restoration plans can be executed.

√ It's normal for outage numbers and estimated restoration times to fluctuate as we deenergize lines to make conditions safe for repairs. Additionally, there could be new outages that occur if strong, damaging winds continue.

√ “Outage Central” reminder: Our “Outage Central” page shows the estimated time of restoration for communities and reflects the estimated time for the last customer in that community to have power restored. The most accurate way for customers to check on the power restoration estimate for their specific address is to log into our “Report or Check Outage” page.

The company is also encouraging customers to keep safety a priority with the following reminders:

Electricity & Generator Safety

√ If a power outage occurs, customers can notify National Grid online to expedite restoration.

√ Never touch downed power lines; always assume they are carrying live electricity. Downed lines should be immediately reported to National Grid at 1-800-867-5222 or by calling 911.

√ Generators used to supply power during an outage must be operated outdoors to prevent the buildup of deadly carbon monoxide. Before operating a generator, be sure to disconnect from National Grid’s system by shutting off the main breaker, located in the electric service panel. Failure to do this could endanger our crews and your neighbors.

√ Customers who depend on electrically powered life support equipment, such as a respirator, should register as a life support customer by calling National Grid at 1-800-642- 4272. In a medical emergency, always dial 911.

√ Keep working flashlights and an extra supply of batteries in your home and be sure to charge all electronic devices before the storm.

√ Please use caution when driving near emergency responders and crews restoring power.

√ Be sure to check on elderly family members, neighbors and others who may need assistance during an outage.

Stay Informed & Connected

Customers with active electricity accounts who text “REG” to 64743 can have personalized alerts sent to them via text, email or phone call when we detect an outage on their properties.

Customers also can text “OUT” to 64743 to report an outage.

√ For real-time power outage information, online outage reporting, and in-depth storm safety information, visit National Grid’s “Outage Central” website. Customers who create an online profile also can sign up for email alerts.

√ Customers can read the latest company news, check outage status and report an outage by using the National Grid app.

√ Visit www.nationalgridus.com.

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