windstorm

Press release:

More than 1,400 National Grid line, tree and service workers in Western New York are focused on public safety and are making steady progress in removing downed wires, trees, tree limbs, broken poles and other hazards and restoring power after a severe windstorm swept across the region on Sunday.

Crews will continue to work around the clock on the labor-intensive cleanup and restoration efforts.

As of 11 a.m. fewer than 9,000 customers remain without service, primarily in the hardest hit areas, including portions of Erie, Niagara, Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties. The storm, with wind gusts of more than 65 mph, impacted 51,000 customers.

A spokesman for National Grid said in Genesee County there remains one customer outage Oakfield, one in Pavilion, one Stafford, and 15 in Attica, 18 total.  

Crews will continue their work in high winds and challenging conditions throughout the day to restore service to customers as quickly and safely as possible.

National Grid is distributing bottled water and dry ice to impacted customers today at the following locations:

The company had initially planned a distribution location in Batavia. But since the number of impacted customers in that area is lower than anticipated, it was decided to concentrate the dry ice and bottled water distribution efforts in the two other areas, to help customers who need it the most.

“Storm damage across Western New York includes uprooted trees, broken poles anddowned power lines,” said Matt Barnett, National Grid’s vice president of New York Electric Operations.

“In addition to performing critical public safety activities, our crews are assessing damage to our system and equipment so that we can refine our restoration estimates and restore power as quickly and safely as possible.”

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
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