National Grid’s field force has worked around the clock to clear downed trees and tree branches, repair downed power lines, and replace more than 130 broken poles, dozens of transformers and other equipment to restore service to customers affected by the upstate New York storm that began on Tuesday. While restoration continues, the company is also preparing for another round of winter weather this weekend, as the forecast once again calls for strong winds, heavy rain and significant snowfall. National Grid will have additional resources prepositioned and ready to respond.
            Challenges experienced by crews this past week included impassable roads and difficult-to-access equipment in remote areas that required repair. As of 3 p.m. today, 50,720 (96.2%) of the 52,674 affected Western New York customers have had service restored. Damaging winds with gusts exceeding 70 mph, lake effect snow and heavy rain on Tuesday caused widespread damage to the company’s electric transmission and distribution systems.
            Customers in the hardest hit areas of Cattaraugus, Chautauqua and Erie counties are projected to have power restored by 11:30 p.m. today. Isolated and scattered single customer outages in harder-to-access areas may potentially extend into Friday. National Grid crews will do everything within their control to complete restoration as quickly as possible.

            “In addition to restoring power to nearly 190,000 customers across Upstate New York after this week’s series of storms, National Grid has been closely monitoring the weather forecasts in the coming days,” said Matt Barnett, Vice President of New York Electric Operations. “We will have crews and personnel across our service area ready to respond to any impacts that this weekend’s storm may bring.”
            Barnett noted that many of the external resources brought in for this week’s massive restoration efforts – some of which came from Canada and as far away as Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Louisiana and Florida – will remain in the area to support necessary cleanup and restoration due to the next round of storms. The company’s in-house team and the complement of external support included highly skilled line, service, tree, damage assessment and safety personnel.
            National Grid also will continue to coordinate planning and preparedness with key partners such as state and county emergency management agencies, municipalities, and police, fire and elected officials.

As electricity service is being restored to customers, 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. The company’s extensive resources will remain in the region until the last outage is repaired.

The company also encourages 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.

• 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.
• 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.

Safety Near Downed Power Lines

• Always use extreme caution near downed power lines and wires, and always assume that they are carrying live electricity.

• Never touch a person or an object that is in contact with a downed line, as electricity can pass through to you.
• Take caution when approaching fallen trees, which could have power lines caught in them.
• Remember that water can conduct electricity. If you see a line down in a puddle or flooded area, avoid contact with the water to prevent risk of shock.
• Click here for more downed power line safety tips.

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 X (formerly known as Twitter) and friend us on Facebook.
• Click here for details on the company’s storm preparation and restoration process. 

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 and Massachusetts. National Grid is focused on building a smarter, stronger, cleaner energy future — transforming our networks with more reliable and resilient energy solutions to meet state climate goals and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.