National Grid Restores Power to 88 Percent of Customers Impacted by Gale-Force Wind and Rain Storm

Patrick Stella                 518-433-3838       

Virginia Limmiatis         315-452-7708

Dave Bertola                  716-831-7136

National Grid’s field force of 2,300 workers has successfully restored power to 88 percent of the nearly 300,000 customers impacted by the damaging wind and rain storm that moved across upstate New York Thursday and Friday. The remaining 34,000 customers without service are expected to have power restored hour-by-hour as crews continue to work around the clock. The company’s extensive resources will remain in the region until the last outage is repaired.

The National Grid field force is working in very challenging conditions, including ongoing flooding and washed out or impassable roads, to reach facilities and equipment that have been damaged by gale-force winds, torrential rain and mud slides in some regions. The storm uprooted trees, brought down tree limbs, wires and other debris and damaged close to 300 utility poles across upstate. The company remains focused on power restoration across its system, including the hardest-hit communities in Erie, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Oneida, Saratoga, Schenectady, St. Lawrence, Washington and Warren counties.

      Wells, NY              Poland, NY                 Middleville, NY             Middleville, NY

Electricity Estimated Restoration Times

Western NY: Power will be restored to remaining impacted circuits in Erie County tonight, with scattered single customer outages restored into Sunday.

Central NY: Restoration will be complete by 11 p.m. tonight for the majority of customers in Oswego, Onondaga, Madison and Cortland counties, with scattered single customer outages restored into Sunday.

North Country: Restoration will be complete by 11 p.m. Sunday for the majority of customers in Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Franklin and Clinton counties, with isolated pockets and scattered single customer outages restored in the localized hardest hit areas into Monday.

Mohawk Valley: Restoration will be complete by 11 p.m. Sunday for the majority of customers in Oneida, Hamilton and Herkimer counties, with isolated pockets and scattered single customer outages restored in the localized hardest hit areas into Monday. 

Albany Region: Restoration will be complete by 11:30 p.m. tonight for the majority of customers in Albany, Schenectady, Rensselaer and Columbia counties, with scattered single customer outages restored into Sunday.

Northeast Region: Restoration will be completed by 11:30 p.m. Sunday for the majority of customers in Essex, Hamilton, Fulton, Montgomery, Saratoga, Schoharie, Washington and Warren counties, with isolated pockets and scattered single customer outages restored in the localized hardest hit areas into Monday, 

Customers who remain without power when their neighbors have been restored should call National Grid at 1-800-867-5222.

 “This was an extremely damaging storm,” said Melanie Littlejohn, National Grid’s New York vice president. “We appreciate our customers’ patience and understanding as our intensive restoration work continues. We also are grateful for the many police, fire, public works, municipal officials, and other volunteers who did so much to support our customers and our communities.”  

Dry ice and bottled water offered Sunday at select locations

National Grid is offering customers dry ice and bottled water at the following locations tomorrow. Customers are asked to bring a cooler or shopping bag to transport their dry ice home.

Once restoration is completed, National Grid crews will remain in the field for the next few days as storm clean up continues. The company reminds drivers to use extreme caution as they approach work areas, to ensure the safety of utility and other storm-response personnel. Additionally, customers are reminded to avoid downed wires. All wires should be considered live power lines and should be immediately reported to National Grid at 1-800-867-5222.

Stay informed and connected:

• Customers can receive personalized alerts by text, email, and/or phone when an outage is detected at their property by enrolling in the company’s outage alert option. To register, text REG to 64743, enter your National Grid electricity account number and select your preferred method(s) of notification. 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.

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.