National Grid crews have worked tirelessly over the past two days to restore power to more than 29,000 of the nearly 30,000 eastern New York customers impacted by damaging wind, rain and ice that caused significant and widespread damage across the region. The storm, which brought wind gusts of more than 50 mph and icy conditions, left broken poles, downed trees and wires in its wake.

“In eastern New York, our field force has endured challenging weather and road conditions to safely restore power to our customers, and we thank every one of them for their professionalism and commitment,” said Matt Barnett, National Grid’s Vice President of New York Electric Operations. “Crews will remain in the field completing the labor-intensive repairs until the last outage is restored.”

With the ongoing, powerful blizzard forecasted to continue to pummel portions of western and northern New York through Sunday, some eastern New York crews will continue their holiday weekend work by traveling to those regions to clean up extensive debris, repair damage and restore power where it is safe to do so. We will continue additional crew coverage in eastern New York through the holiday weekend.

The sustained, multi-day blizzard, which is being called a “once-in-a-generation storm,” is bringing whiteout conditions, damaging wind gusts of nearly 80 mph, particularly in areas off Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.

A list or warming centers in western and northern New York can be found by clicking on the warming shelter icon on National Grid's Outage Central map.

Safety Near Downed Power Lines

• Stay away from downed power lines and wires; use caution if one is nearby, 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.

Learn more about downed power line safety at our website.

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 path to a more affordable, reliable clean energy future through our fossil-free vision. 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. 

 

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