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National Grid Issues Press Release Updating Power
Restoration Efforts Across the Region
Published: December 12, 2021
at 01:00 p.m.
By: Press Release from National Grid
National Grid
Crews Cleaning up Damage, Restoring Power After Powerful Windstorm Impacts
Service to more than 215,000 Upstate Customers
A National Grid
field force of more than 3,300 workers is active across upstate New York
removing downed wires, trees, tree limbs, broken poles
and other hazards, while focusing on public safety and service restoration
after a sustained, powerful windstorm hovered over the region Saturday
through early this morning. The storm, which included heavy rain and wind
gusts of more than 80 mph in some areas, has caused widespread and
significant damage across the company’s 25,000-square-mile service area.
Crews have been
working around the clock and, as of 10 a.m., have restored power to nearly
148,000 of the more than 215,000 customers impacted by the storm. Hardest
hit were areas along the shores of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, including
Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Monroe, Oswego, Lewis and
St. Lawrence counties.
In preparation
for the storm, the company activated its comprehensive
emergency response plan, including securing additional resources
and pre-staging crews and materials in areas forecasted to be most severely
impacted. Additional crews from North Carolina, South Carolina, West
Virginia, Michigan, Indiana and Ontario are
arriving today to support the restoration efforts.
“This was an
extremely destructive storm,” said Matt Barnett, National Grid’s Vice
President of New York Electric Operations. “We continue to prioritize
public safety as we clean up the widespread damage that includes uprooted
trees and downed power lines,” he said.
Barnett noted
that cleanup, reconstruction and restoration will
be labor-intensive and time consuming, with some outages in the hardest hit
areas of western, central and northern New York potentially extending
beyond 48 hours. “In addition to our critical public safety activities, we
are assessing the damage to our system and equipment in order to provide
estimated restoration times.”
National Grid
continues to work closely with local officials to coordinate restoration
efforts. Customers are reminded to remain aware of potential safety
hazards such as damaged trees, particularly broken limbs that haven’t yet
fallen to the ground. As always, all downed wires should be considered live
and dangerous. All downed wires should immediately be reported to National
Grid at 1-800-867-5222 or by calling 911.
The company is
distributing dry ice and bottled water today from noon to 4 p.m. at the
locations below. Company personnel will provide information
about proper handling of dry ice, and customers are asked to bring a bag or
cooler to transport it.
Western New York
Dry Ice and Bottled Water Locations:
JFK Community
Center
114 Hickory St.
Buffalo, N.Y. 14204
City of Batavia
Fire Dept.
18 Evans St.
Batavia, N.Y. 14020
Niagara Falls
Fire Station No. 8
320 Hyde Park Blvd.
Niagara Falls, NY 14303
Murphy Training
Center
665 Brigham Rd.
Dunkirk, NY 14048
Central New York Dry Ice and Bottled Water Locations:
Watertown CitiBus Garage
544 Newell St.
Watertown, NY 13601
Oswego Fire Dept.
(back parking lot)
35 East Seneca St.
Oswego, NY 13126
The Restoration
Process
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. Click
here for a video on how National Grid restores power after a
storm.
Estimated
Restoration Times
- 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 our equipment can be assessed
and restoration plans can be executed.
- It's normal for outage numbers and Estimated
Restoration Times to fluctuate as we de-energize 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.
Click
here for details on the company’s storm preparation and
restoration process.
Stay informed and
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 our website: www.nationalgridus.com,
follow us on Twitter and
friend us on Facebook.
About National
Grid
About National
Grid: National Grid (NYSE: NGG) is an electricity, natural gas, and clean
energy delivery company serving more than 20 million people through our
networks in New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. National Grid is
transforming our electricity and natural gas networks with smarter, cleaner,
and more resilient energy solutions to meet the goal of reducing greenhouse
gas emissions.
For more
information, please visit our website,
follow us on Twitter, watch us on YouTube,
friend us on Facebook, and find our photos on Instagram.
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