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power outage

Driver in Law Street accident still at large with residents in area suffering damage from power surge

By Howard B. Owens

The driver behind the wheel of a minivan that struck a utility pole Wednesday afternoon on Law Street, causing a significant power surge in the area, has not been located yet.

Sgt. Mitch Cowen said Thursday morning that police are pretty confident they know who the driver was, that he's not from the area and that the vehicle was not stolen.

Cowen said police are looking for him in order to question him about the accident.

Witnesses saw the man running from the accident and provided a description to police.  A K-9 was deployed shortly after the accident in an attempt to find his trail, but that effort failed to find the driver.

At least 287 homes in the area of Chestnut Street, South Jackson, and to both the north and south of those streets, lost power.  The power surge caused electric meters on the outside of dozens of homes to blow out, with some of those houses displaying visible black char marks around the meters. 

National Grid crews worked through Thanksgiving morning restoring power.  The pole and main power line to the area were in working order by 10 or 11 p.m. on Wednesday night after crews worked to restore power to each house one at a time.  The meters on all 287 homes were replaced.  For residents who were not home last night, crews returned Thursday morning to locate them and complete the work (power at the breaker box needed to be turned off before the meter was replaced).

"When high voltage lines are negatively impacted, as they were last night, it can create an unsafe condition for residences," said David Bertola, a spokesman for National Grid. "The pulling, checking and replacing of electric meters is a standard safety procedure that our crews perform under circumstances such as these."

A worker last night recommended residents check all surge protectors. He said residents would know right away if the surge protector was blown.  If they were off before power was restored, when turned back on, if blown, they will spark and smoke. If already plugged in, they may no longer work.  Some may work but should have a light to indicate they no longer provide surge protection.

Each surge protector is rated differently. Some surge protectors can handle larger bursts of energy but can never exceed their rated capacity, and the capacity is cumulative. As HowToGeek.com notes, if a surge protector is rated for 1,000 joules of energy and it gets one joule at a time over a period of time, it will need to be replaced after 1,000 incidents.  If a highly rated surge protector takes a major power surge, it may still function but it may also be near the end of its life span.

Replacing all surge protectors after a major power event is often recommended by experts.

The Batavian spoke to an electrician today who recommended checking all appliances.  Anything receiving an active electrical current at the time of Wednesday's surge could be toast, or close to it.

At least one resident in the area is without heat after the power surge damaged the circuitry of the forced air heater.

A National Grid crew member advised residents who suffered an economic loss as a result of the power surge to file a claim with National Grid.

Bertola said customers with claims can email National Grid at ClaimsDept@nationalgrid.com or by calling (315) 428-6536.

A law enforcement source said that typically, National Grid attempts to recover damages from the driver's insurance company -- and it appears this driver was insured -- when an accident damages a utility pole.

The damages, in this case, could include the pole and all of the subsequent residential repair work and any damages sustained by residents.


Photos by Howard Owens.

Limited power outages in Batavia

By Joanne Beck

Apparently Batavia is the only area in Genesee County with a reported power outage that occurred at 1:47 p.m. Wednesday, according to National Grid. The outage has affected 2,455 customers, including those on the city's north side, and specific reasons for the outage were not available from National Grid staff at 2:14 p.m.

National Grid has estimated that the outage is expected to be restored by 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Power out on Batavia’s Southside

By Howard B. Owens

A power outage that began at 6:11 am is reported on the Southside of Batavia, effecting 1,220 National Grid customers. 

the outage area is from Walnut to Lehigh Avenue, south to the city line and north along Ellicott Street with a portion going north of Main Street at Bank. 

National Grid expects to restore power by 8:30 a.m. 

Power outage reported in the central part of Batavia

By Howard B. Owens

A power outage affecting 1,548 National Grid customers is reported in the central part of the City of Batavia.

It was first reported at 11:43 p.m.

National Grid expects to restore power by 1:45 a.m.

The outage is approximately from Tops on the west side, along West Main to Ellicott Street at Swan Street, north nearly East Avenue, cutting diagonally toward the State School for the Blind to nearly the Thruway.  It takes in both sides of Oak Street from Main to the Thruway.

UPDATE 12:36 p.m.: There are now fewer than 700 customers without power.  Power appears to have been restored to customers south of Main Street.

Power outage reported on east side of Batavia into Stafford, Bethany, and Byron

By Howard B. Owens

A power outage affecting more than 4,600 National Grid customers is reported in the northeast section of Batavia into Byron, Stafford and East Bethany.

A crew has yet to be assigned. There is not yet an ETA for repairs.

A dispatcher informed Batavia PD that several traffic lights are not functioning in the area.

UPDATE 11:08 a.m.: Dispatch has received calls from people concerned about the light being out at Route 33 and Batavia Stafford Townline Road. The concern is that people "coming over the hill" will not see the lights are out. A trooper is advised but the dispatcher said callers have been advised multiple lights are out in the area and law enforcement may not be available for that specific intersection.

UPDATE 11:21 a.m.: Statement from Batavia PD: "There is currently a power outage affecting some areas of the City. Remember that if you approach a traffic signal that is not functioning to treat it as a 4-way stop."

UPDATE 11:30 a.m.: The estimated power restoration time for the Batavia-to-Byron outage is 1:15 p.m. For the outage to the east, the restoration time estimate is 12:45 p.m.

UPDATE Noon: Statement from National Grid -- "Earlier today a faulty piece of equipment at a substation resulted in the loss of electricity service for around 4,800 customers in the Batavia area. Our crews are making repairs and they should all be restored at around 1 p.m."

UPDATE 1:41 p.m.: It appears power has been restored to both areas.

Power outage reported in Byron, South Byron and Bergen

By Howard B. Owens

More than 1,000 customers of National Grid are without power in the Byron, South Byron, and Bergen areas.

Power went out at about 4 p.m.

It's the only significant power outage in Genesee County but there are also three large outages reported just to the east in Monroe and Livingston counties.

We don't have information on what may have caused the outages.

National Grid estimates completing reports in Genesee County by 6 p.m.

UPDATE 4:34 p.m.: As soon as this was posted, the National Grid site shows that power has been restored to this area.

Power outage in Le Roy, Stafford, Bethany, South Byron

By Howard B. Owens

A power outage has hit a major portion of the east side of Genesee County with more than 5,000 National Grid customers without power.

National Grid reports it is assessing the situation. There is no estimated time for power restoration at this time.

The power outage affects Le Roy, much of Stafford, Bethany, Byron, and South Byron and into Bergen.

UPDATE 11:10 a.m.: Crews have been assigned. Estimated time of restoration, 5:15 p.m.

UPDATE 3:26 p.m.: We're not sure when power was restored but according to National Grid, power has been restored to all but fewer than five customers.

Power outage reported at Highland and Pringle, Batavia

By Howard B. Owens

As many as 24 customers are without power in the area of Highland Park and Pringle Avenue, according to National Grid.

The power outage was reported at 8:39 a.m., about the time a loud boom -- possibly a transformer -- was heard in the neighborhood.

National Grid estimates power will be restored by 10:45 a.m.

National Grid Outage Map: 1,018 customers in Genesee County without power

By Billie Owens

According to the National Grid Outage Map, which they update every 15 minutes, there are currently 1,018 Genesee County customers without power. They are still assessing damages.

A total of 26,948 customers are served here by the utility company.

To view the interactive map, click here.

UPDATE 4:03 p.m.: Checked the map and nothing has changed since we first posted it at 3:24 p.m.

UPDATE 5:16 p.m.: There's been an uptick in the number of Genesee County customers without power. National Grid reports 1,066 customers without power, up from 1,018 almost two hours ago.

National Grid crews working to restore power to 1,150 customers

By Billie Owens

From National Grid:

Work crews (local and outside) are busy throughout Genesee County with restoration efforts ongoing following the yesterday's high winds that brought down a lot of trees and power lines. The current number of customers out of power is 1,150.

The areas with the largest number of customer outages are Darien, Bergen and Byron.

Currently, crews are active in the following areas:

  • Darien
  • Byron
  • Bergen
  • Alexander
  • Oakfield
  • Stafford
  • Le Roy
  • Pavilion

National Grid issues update on power restoration efforts

By Billie Owens
Press release from National Grid:
 
Update on Restoration Efforts

National Grid crews are continuing to repair damage, remove trees and restore power to customers impacted by Wednesday's devastating windstorm. Gusts in excess of 70 mph caused extensive tree and equipment damage and left over 164,000 customers without power across our region.

As crews restored power throughout the day, National Grid also completed a comprehensive damage assessment and is estimating that 90 percent of impacted upstate New York customers will have power restored by late Friday evening. Most of the remaining impacted customers in the hardest hit areas – particularly in portions of Niagara, Orleans, Genesee and Wyoming counties - – will have power restored late Saturday evening due to the severity of the storm damage.

As of 4 p.m., service has been restored to nearly 71,000 homes and businesses throughout Western New York, with approximately 52,000 customers remaining without power due to the storm’s impact.

If you lose power or have not yet reported a power outage, please contact us at 1-800-867-5222. Customers can also report outages via the Outage Central section of our website.

National Grid will make dry ice and bottled water available to customers at the following locations  from noon to 5 p.m. tomorrow:

  • Wrights Corners Fire Company
    4043 Lake Ave., Lockport, NY
     
  • City of Batavia Fire Department
    18 Evans Street, Batavia, NY
     
  • Village Fire Station
    80 Owens Rd., Brockport, NY

The dry ice will be cut for ease of handling, and can be used to protect food and other perishables.

For your safety, please remember these safety tips

  • Never touch downed power lines, and always assume that any fallen lines are live electricity wires. If you see one, report it immediately to National Grid or your local emergency response organization.
  • Generator used to supply power during an outage must be operated outdoors. Before operating generators, 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 jeopardize your safety and the safety of our crews.
  • Power problems can sometimes interrupt public water supply systems or disable well pumps, so it’s an especially good idea to keep a supply of bottled drinking water handy, as well as some canned food.
  • It’s a good idea to have a number of working flashlights, at least one battery-operated radio and an extra supply of batteries in your home. A radio is a good way to stay in touch, as National Grid provides news media with timely information regarding service restoration efforts.
  • National Grid also advises staying tuned to local media for important announcements from emergency officials about possible evacuations or other emergency procedures. In most areas, information on storm shelter locations is available by calling 2-1-1. Also, please check on elderly family members, neighbors and others who may need assistance in a service outage. 

We appreciate your support and patience as we work to restore service.
 
National Grid
Here with you. Here for you.

UPDATED: Power outage in Batavia affecting 2,400 households and businesses

By Howard B. Owens

There is a power outage in Batavia that covers an area north of East Main Street, from about Bank Street to just east of Clinton Street stretching north in a triangle with the tip on Bank Street Road in East Elba.

About 2,400 National Grid customers are affected.

The cause of the outage is not available at this time and emergency dispatchers are not aware of the cause.

National Grid is giving an estimated time of power restoration of 12:45 p.m.

UPDATE 11:59 p.m.: Steve Brady, spokesman for National Grid, said the cause it not known at this time. A crew is at the substation.  He will provide more information when it's available.

UPDATE 1:42 p.m.: From Steve Brady: "All customers were restored at 12:54 through some switching, but root cause of the outage is still unclear.  There may have been a fuse problem in the station, but crews are still looking at it."

UPDATE 2:03 p.m.: Batavia High School Principal Scott Wilson sent parents/guardians a voice message this afternoon about the power outage. He said power was reported out at 10:55 a.m. and it was restored at 12:30 p.m. and that school officials were in contact with National Grid. The high school remained open throughout the power outage. Backup generators were used and lighting was in place for bathrooms, and the students were provided a hot lunch. They took advantage of natural lighting and students were directed to sit in the atrium and gymnasium. Having Chrome book computers during a power outage was noted as a "new benefit" of the devices, enabling instruction to continue with a minimum of disruption. Wilson said afternoon instruction for BOCES students has been cancelled; students were directed to the library and could be dismissed from there with parental consent. Anyone with questions is asked to call 343-2480, ext. 2000.

Two power outages reported in Genesee County

By Howard B. Owens

More than a thousand National Grid customers in Genesee County are without power.

There is a power outage the Byron-Bergen ara that extends south to Le Roy, and almost north and east to the Village of Bergen. More than 1,000 customers are without power. A reader reports a tree is down.

A smaller outage is affecting 44 customers in Alexander, near the county line, east of Route 98. There is an ETA of 7:45 p.m. for power restoration.

Wire down and sparking on South Swan Street in the city

By Billie Owens

A live wire is reportedly down and sparking at 110 S. Swan St. There is also a power outage in the area, according to callers to dispatch, including possibly the courthouse. A loud noise was also reported. City fire is responding.

Route 77 at Route 20 is closed in Darien after accident causes power outage to stop lights

By Alecia Kaus

Route 77 at Route 20 is closed because a power outage caused by an accident has disabled the stop lights.

No one is injured, but there's no power in that area.

The vehicle apparently slid off the road and hit a meter box. National Grid has been notified.

UPDATE 3:54 p.m.: Darien fire says the meter box has power, but will have to be turned off so the DOT can fix the stop lights.

UPDATE 4:30 p.m.: Darien fire is back in service and law enforcement is at the intersection.

UPDATE 7:09 p.m.: Law enforcement on scene says the DOT may not be able to complete all the repairs to get the signal lights working again. They are requesting portable stop signs for the night.

Power outage from Batavia to Elba

By Howard B. Owens

More than 500 National Grid customers along the Route 98 corridor from Batavia to Elba are without power.

The power outage spreads like triangle from the City of Batavia, where the tip starts, up to the Village of Elba, where the base of the triangle stretches east and west.

Power is expected to be restored by 2:15 p.m.

The outage caused one person to become briefly trapped in an elevator at the Hampton Inn. (Back-up generators corrected the problem.)

Radio traffic indicted the problem is a power line that stretches under the Thruway.

Sunday Morning Power Outage?

By Bea McManis

Did anyone lose power this morning?

Also, hearing fire trucks or ambulance on the move.  Any word as to where?

UMMC explains cause of power outage, plans to prevent future issues

By Philip Anselmo

Apologies. This statement on the details of the power outage at United Memorial Medical Center Friday went overlooked by me. I had sent a request early in the afternoon that day asking to be updated on the status of the outage. Last I had heard at that point, all of the surgeries for the day had been cancelled and incoming patients were being sent elsewhere. That was around noon.

This mail was sent around 6 o'clock Friday evening:

Early this morning, United Memorial was made aware of potentially dangerous power issues at the North Street Campus. A transfer switch which allows approximately 75% of the Hospital’s electrical needs to move to generator power, failed.

While the Hospital was operational and functioning “on the grid” using regular electrical service, the lack of a redundancy system required the cancellation of all surgeries and placed the Emergency Department on diversion. All incoming ambulances were diverted to Millard Fillmore Suburban and other area hospitals.

In order to diagnose and correct the power issue, United Memorial went “off the grid” and was without power for approximately 16 minutes beginning at 12:20 pm today. This allowed crews to convert to a temporary manual switching system. In preparation for this event, United Memorial worked with the Genesee County Office of Emergency Management, City of Batavia Fire and Police, and the Department of Health to insure patient safety. Mobile generators and temporary lighting were brought in for critical electrical power needs and an internal labor pool was established to address issues due to the lack of elevator and computer services. Quality Management discharged patients that were expected to go home today prior to the power interruption and patient meals were delivered before elevator services were disconnected. A notice was also sent to all members of the Medical Staff alerting them to the situation.

This afternoon, electrical crews worked to move two operating rooms off of the manual switching system over to an automatic transfer switch. In an unexpected power failure due to circumstances such as weather or an accident, this conversion will allow generator power to become effective in a matter of seconds; with a manual transfer to generator power, 3-5 minutes are necessary. This conversion was completed by 5:15 pm today and the Hospital ended the diversion of ambulances. United Memorial is now operating at its regular capacity.

A permanent replacement of the faulty transfer switch should occur in the next 2-3 weeks when the customized part becomes available. There were no negative impacts to patient care during this incident and the Hospital would like to express their gratitude to the staff of United Memorial, the Genesee County Office of Emergency Management, City of Batavia Fire and Police Departments, our patients and visitors who worked cooperatively with patience and understanding while we attended to a potential life safety issue.

Power outage at United Memorial

By Philip Anselmo

From United Memorial Medical Center:

United Memorial Medical Center is experiencing difficulties with the electrical power redundancy system at its North Street Campus which will affect the main hospital. To repair this issue, the Hospital will be without power for 15 -90 minutes while the issue is diagnosed and repaired at approximately 12:20 pm..

United Memorial officials are working with the Genesee County Office of Emergency Management, City of Batavia Fire and Police, and the Department of Health to insure patient safety. The Hospital is on full diversion and all surgeries have been cancelled for the remainder of the day.

The Hospital has initiated an internal labor pool in order to address issues that may arise due to the lack of elevator service. Currently, there are 90 patients admitted to the hospital at North Street. The Hospital is working to discharge patients that were expected to go home today before the power disruption is expected.

Visitors to the hospital today should expect to see increased activity and emergency personnel on stand-by. Their cooperation while we address this electrical concern is appreciated.

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