National Grid Restores Power to Nearly 180,000 Upstate New York Customers Impacted by Damaging Windstorm

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 this 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 restoration times for customers who remain without service. Power is being consistently restored to customers in these regions and 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 our Report or Check an Outage page. 

• Eastern New York: Restoration will be complete tonight 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.

“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 Monday, Dec. 13, from noon to 4 p.m. 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, NY 14020

Erie County
Town of Amherst Community Centern
4255 Harlem Rd. Amherst, NY 14426 

Niagara County
City of Niagara Falls Firehouse #8
320 Hyde Park Blvd. Niagara Falls, NY 14303 

Central New York Dry Ice and Bottled Water Locations: 
Franklin County
Paul Smiths- Gabriels Volunteer Fire Department
68 State Route 86 Gabriels, NY 12939 

Jefferson County
Watertown CitiBus Garage
544 Newell St. Watertown, NY 13601 

Lewis County
Jefferson Community College Extension Campus
7395 East Rd. Lowville, NY 13367 

Oswego County
Oswego Fire Dept (back parking lot)
35 E. Seneca St. Oswego, NY 13126 

St. Lawrence County
Canton Fire Department
77 Riverside Dr. Canton, NY 13617

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. 

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: 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.