National Grid

Press Release:

Highlights of National Grid’s Filing: 

 

• Critical investments to ensure the reliability and safe operation of the company’s energy delivery system that serves 2.3 million upstate New York residential and business customers.
• Enhanced system resiliency and reliability measures to manage and reduce the impact of frequent and severe weather and enable continued strong storm response. 
• Integrated energy planning to consider interactions between gas, electric, and customer energy systems to achieve long-term climate goals in a safe and affordable way.
• Infrastructure investments to support economic development, connect clean energy, and enhance security.
• Targeted programs and dedicated teams to better serve residential, commercial, and industrial customers.
• Enhanced energy affordability programs and services, and programs to enable clean energy and energy efficiency benefits for disadvantaged communities.

National Grid has submitted a proposal to support a smarter, stronger, cleaner energy system that will enhance reliability and advance New York’s clean energy goals in a filing with the New York State Public Service Commission. The filing, which proposes to reset electricity and natural gas delivery prices beginning in spring 2025, is focused on maintaining critical infrastructure, improving customer service, providing additional assistance to vulnerable customers, promoting economic growth, and preparing electricity and gas networks for the energy transition that will rely more heavily on clean energy sources.

The company’s plan includes targeted investments and programs to reduce emissions, strengthen the safe delivery of energy, connect renewable energy projects to the company’s networks, and increase energy efficiency offerings and other programs to help customers reduce their energy usage. 

Additionally, the plan will improve the overall customer experience by increasing the number of consumer advocates to assist vulnerable customers, including those in disadvantaged communities, eliminating credit card fees for residential bill payments, and adopting new technologies to provide more self-service options for customers.

The company shaped the filing after conducting listening sessions with customers, communities, environmental justice advocates and other key stakeholders. The meetings were held to help ensure National Grid’s proposal aligns with the goals and priorities of the customers and communities it serves while meeting our legal and regulatory mandates. 

“Prioritizing the energy needs of our customers is vital, and nothing is more important than the safe operation of our networks as we look for new ways of delivering energy for all our customers,” said Phil DeCicco, New York General Counsel. “We have identified essential investments in this rate proposal, and we will ensure no customer is left behind in their access to reliable and affordable energy as we continue on the clean energy transition.” 

An Extended Period of Energy Price Stability

The company’s efficiency initiatives and relatively low commodity costs in recent years have contributed to an extended period of energy price stability. Adjusted for inflation, total bills are lower than they were 16 years ago. As noted in the charts below, average residential electricity bills were approximately 20% lower in 2023 than they were in 2007, and natural gas bills are 40% lower over
the same period. 

The one-year proposal would result in a total monthly bill increase of about $19, or 15 percent for a residential electricity customer using 625 kilowatt-hours. The total gas bill increase for residential gas customers would be about $18, or 20 percent a month, based on 78 therms used. 

Today’s filing includes a one-year proposal along with cost data for three additional years to enable discussions on a multi-year settlement. Reaching a settlement that spreads cost increases over four years, for example, could reduce the first-year delivery price impacts by more than half.

“While we have made every effort to moderate the proposals and resulting bill impacts in our filings, we are interested in exploring a multi-year rate plan that would allow National Grid to take full advantage of efficiencies and manage bills over multiple years,” DeCicco added. “We’re committed to doing all that we can to minimize any impact on our customers while delivering on the critical safety, reliability, and clean energy priorities our customers expect and deserve. Recognizing the imperative to manage customers’ bills, these filings balance the need for continued investment with the need to maintain affordability and protect our most vulnerable customers.”

Additional customer benefits in the proposal include: 

• Investment of approximately $1.7 billion in the electricity grid and $338 million in gas networks across upstate New York. This includes investments that will increase the company’s ability to seamlessly connect renewable, distributed generation.
• Investments in the natural gas system will mitigate regional capacity constraints, make needed infrastructure replacements, and improve the safety and reliability of the distribution network. This includes the retirement of 128 miles of leak-prone pipe over four years.
• Increased customer assistance and energy affordability programs for those having difficulty managing their energy costs.
• Continued deployment of economic development and energy efficiency programs that help grow the upstate economy.
• Adding more than 800 jobs over the next four years to support electric and gas operations, grid modernization and customer programs. These will include local employees who live and work in the communities we serve and support the regional economy.

The plan also will prepare the electric system for the company’s Upstate Upgrade initiative, which is essential to the continued reliable operation and resiliency of the energy infrastructure and further enables the connection of locally generated clean energy across Upstate New York.

The New York Department of Public Service will thoroughly review the proposal to ensure the company prudently invests in, operates and maintains its energy delivery system.

“National Grid is determined to build a better energy future while keeping energy as affordable as possible,” DeCicco said. “We look forward to an open and transparent public review process and encourage customers to become involved in how we can build a better energy future for all the communities we serve.”

National Grid’s upstate New York electricity business serves 1.7 million customers in more than 680 cities, villages and towns across 25,000 square miles, while its gas distribution business serves more than 640,000 customers across portions of central, northern and eastern New York. 

National Grid’s full rate case filing can be found on the Public Service Commission’s website as ngrid.com/uny-ratefiling.

There has been some ongoing discussion, debate and confusion online about lights in the city of Batavia: who is responsible for repairing them, replacing burned out bulbs, and whatever happened to that deal where the city was going to replace all of the lights with energy-efficient LEDs?

Some confusion may be justified, as both the city and National Grid have jurisdiction over parts of city street lights, though National Grid seems to have responsibility for the larger section — which it just this week was spotted out and about fulfilling by replacing several burned out bulbs in time for the annual trick-or-treat night.

Hopefully that will not be as much of an issue in the near future, after the city completes what it began in June 2022, to contract for the purchase and replacement of all National Grid street lights and convert them to LED versions. 

“We close on the purchase with National Grid on Nov. 16,” City Manager Rachael Tabelski said Wednesday. “It has been a yearlong process to get to this closing date, that has included multiple administrative steps and approval by the Public Service Commission.  

“Once the sale is complete, Power and Construction Group (P&CG) will begin the light replacement process across the City,” she said. “The LED street lights that we are installing have many benefits and include a 10-year replacement warranty.” 

The city worked last year with the New York Power Authority and its engineering consultant, Wendel Engineers, for the replacement project. The nearly $1.7 million plan (Phase I) has an estimated savings of more than $161,000 annually. 

City Council approved the purchase of 948 street lights at a cost of $226,038, and future replacement of all National Grid street lights in the city. 

The Batavian also reached out to National Grid spokesman David Bertola in an attempt to initially find out about the recommended procedure for burned-out street lights and how many lights were out in the city, and he said it was “difficult to know, as some lights are owned by the city of Batavia, whereas others are owned by National Grid.”

He referred folks to complete an online form to report any street lights with nonworking lights. 

“Damaged street lights can be dangerous” he said, and he also encouraged people to call 1-800-642-4272 to directly report those. 

“Typically, once National Grid is alerted about a non-working street light, a crew will investigate within 24 hours,” he said.  “Repairs are frequently made shortly thereafter.”

Recently, there have been complaints on social media about residential street lights being out.  This morning, The Batavian came across a National Grid crew replacing a light at Maple Street and Ganson Avenue in the City of Batavia.

A crew member said they are replacing all burned-out lights in the city in time for trick-or-treat.  At least all they know about -- in this case, today, that's 11. 

They only know about a light that needs replacing, he said, if a resident calls in a burned-out light. There are no crews driving around at night looking for burned-out lights, and there is no computer system to inform National Grid of burned-out lights. 

He said last week, he was working on a reported 32 lights out in the city. At one stop, a resident asked him if he was going to replace the light "around the corner."  He told the resident it wasn't on the list.  "Did you call it in?"  The resident thought National Grid should already know about it.  Again, National Grid only knows if a resident calls it in.  

The number to call is the company number on your National Grid bill.  

He also said he recently replaced a light on Jackson Street that he knew he had replaced a couple of weeks before.  They found a BB-shot hole in the light. 

National Grid is responsible for any street lights on a utility pole.  If it's not on a utility pole, and it's within the City of Batavia, it is probably the responsibility of the city.

There are 2,133 National Grid customers without power in an area that stretches from the northeast quadrant of the City of Batavia to the Town of Le Roy on the east, and from north of Clinton Street Road in Bryon to Route 63 in East Bethany.

The power outage was reported at 6:23 and is expected to be resolved by 8:30 p.m.

UPDATE 7:18 p.m.: National Grid is on scene on Clinton STree Road but has not yet located the source of the outage.

Press Release:

The Genesee County Economic Development Center and National Grid today announced that a 1.9-mile portion of a 115-kilovolt electric transmission line in Genesee County has been relocated to open more than 300 acres of land for future development at the Science & Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park site.

The transmission line, which had previously cut across a portion of the 1,250-acre site, now runs adjacent to it. Future tenants will join Plug Power and Edwards at STAMP and have clean hydropower delivered to them from the Niagara Power Project in Lewiston, N.Y. Delivering hydropower to STAMP aligns with New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act goal to obtain 70 percent of electricity statewide from renewable sources by 2030 on the path to a zero-emission grid.

More than $1 billion will be invested at STAMP by Plug Power and Edwards for projects that will create up to 680 new, family-sustaining jobs in the emerging green hydrogen and semiconductor sectors. Plug Power is constructing North America’s largest green hydrogen manufacturing facility with a $677 million investment that will produce 74 tons of green hydrogen a day. Edwards is investing approximately $319 million to build a semiconductor dry pump manufacturing facility that the company has dubbed as its factory of the future.

“Between Edwards and Plug Power, and recent infrastructure upgrades thanks to Governor Kathy Hochul and New York State, STAMP has generated $1 billion of capital investment and National Grid has played a vital role in helping us attract projects that will benefit Genesee County and surrounding communities, including the Buffalo and Rochester regions, for generations to come,” said GCEDC President and CEO Steve Hyde. 

“The hydropower provided by the New York Power Authority and the infrastructure built by National Grid are energizing companies of the future right here at STAMP, giving us a competitive advantage as we compete globally for companies in these emerging business sectors.”

“The electric infrastructure and equipment needed to serve STAMP customers are state-of-the-art and will provide the necessary capacity to deliver renewable hydropower to Plug Power and Edwards, as well as future STAMP tenants,” said National Grid Regional Director Ken Kujawa. He added that the transmission circuit at STAMP is paired with an additional 115 KV transmission line that will be connected to a 600-megawatt substation that is currently under construction. 

“We have a responsibility to provide affordable, reliable power to our customers and the GCEDC and Genesee County community are building something special at STAMP.” In addition to working with GCEDC on the transmission line relocation, National Grid’s commitment to STAMP has included funding from its robust suite of economic development programs, which have been used to support the site’s marketing efforts.

Since 2003, National Grid’s 18 economic development programs have provided more than $145 million in assistance, helping to create or retain more than 65,000 jobs and supporting almost $10.5 billion in private and public investment across upstate New York. More information about National Grid’s economic development programs is available at www.shovelready.com.

Press release:

With another winter storm heading our way, National Grid has increased staffing and is extending evening and overnight work shifts in preparation for snow, sleet, ice and potential high winds across portions of upstate New York Wednesday and Thursday. In addition, the company has activated its comprehensive emergency response plan, including:

• Securing external resources and mobilizing line, tree, service, damage assessment, and public safety workers.
• Pre-staging crews and materials in areas anticipated to be most severely impacted.
• Proactively reaching out to elected, municipal and emergency management officials to keep them updated on our preparations and provide safety information.
• Reaching out directly to customers through traditional and social media, email and texts and on our website to provide safety information and to urge them to be prepared.
• Conducting outbound calls to life support and critical facility customers to ensure they are prepared.

In anticipation of the storm, the company is 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. Click here for more information on downed power line safety.
• 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. 
• Find more powerline safety information here.

Click here for details on how National Grid prepares for storms.

Photo courtesy National Grid.

Press Release:

National Grid has increased its upstate New York field force to more than 2,800 line, service, tree, damage assessment and public safety workers in preparation for a major storm forecasted to begin Thursday afternoon and continue into the holiday weekend.

Forecasts for Genesee, Erie, Niagara and Orleans counties include a blizzad warning from 7 a.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Sunday. Estimates call for total snow accumulations of one to three feet, and winds gusting as high as 70 mph Friday and Friday night.

A rapid switch from rain to snow with sharply falling temperatures into the teens and single digits will result in a flash freeze on Friday, according to the National Weather Service. Blizzard conditions will develop Friday afternoon lasting into Saturday night.

The storm is expected to bring a wintry mix of rain, sleet and snow, along with plummeting temperatures, ice buildup and extremely damaging winds, a National Grid press release states.

In addition to ensuring all National Grid field- and office-based employees are available for this storm, the company has secured external resources, including hundreds of contractor crews, some coming from as far away as Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas and Canada. The company also has activated its comprehensive emergency response plan, which includes:

• Securing external resources and pre-staging crews and materials in areas anticipated to be
most severely impacted.
• Initiating patrols to monitor our gas system for any impact from potential flooding.
• Proactively reaching out to elected, municipal and emergency management officials to keep them updated on our preparations and provide safety information.
• Reaching out directly to customers through traditional and social media, email and texts and on our website to provide safety information and to encourage them to be prepared.
• Conducting outbound calls to life support and critical facility customers to ensure they are prepared.

“Heading into the holiday weekend, our line workers, field teams, support staff and contractor crews have made the commitment to be away from their families if they’re needed to restore service to our customers,” said Brian Gemmell, National Grid’s Chief Operating Officer for New York Electric. “We know that there is never a convenient time to endure a storm, especially during the holidays, and our crews are at the ready if the weather impacts our energy delivery system.”

Gemmell said the company will continue to closely monitor weather forecasts and he 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 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.

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.

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, follow us on Twitter and friend us on Facebook.
• Click here for details on the company’s storm preparation and restoration process.

The driver behind the wheel of a minivan that struck a utility pole Wednesday afternoon on Law Street, causing a significant power surge in the area, has not been located yet.

Sgt. Mitch Cowen said Thursday morning that police are pretty confident they know who the driver was, that he's not from the area and that the vehicle was not stolen.

Cowen said police are looking for him in order to question him about the accident.

Witnesses saw the man running from the accident and provided a description to police.  A K-9 was deployed shortly after the accident in an attempt to find his trail, but that effort failed to find the driver.

At least 287 homes in the area of Chestnut Street, South Jackson, and to both the north and south of those streets, lost power.  The power surge caused electric meters on the outside of dozens of homes to blow out, with some of those houses displaying visible black char marks around the meters. 

National Grid crews worked through Thanksgiving morning restoring power.  The pole and main power line to the area were in working order by 10 or 11 p.m. on Wednesday night after crews worked to restore power to each house one at a time.  The meters on all 287 homes were replaced.  For residents who were not home last night, crews returned Thursday morning to locate them and complete the work (power at the breaker box needed to be turned off before the meter was replaced).

"When high voltage lines are negatively impacted, as they were last night, it can create an unsafe condition for residences," said David Bertola, a spokesman for National Grid. "The pulling, checking and replacing of electric meters is a standard safety procedure that our crews perform under circumstances such as these."

A worker last night recommended residents check all surge protectors. He said residents would know right away if the surge protector was blown.  If they were off before power was restored, when turned back on, if blown, they will spark and smoke. If already plugged in, they may no longer work.  Some may work but should have a light to indicate they no longer provide surge protection.

Each surge protector is rated differently. Some surge protectors can handle larger bursts of energy but can never exceed their rated capacity, and the capacity is cumulative. As HowToGeek.com notes, if a surge protector is rated for 1,000 joules of energy and it gets one joule at a time over a period of time, it will need to be replaced after 1,000 incidents.  If a highly rated surge protector takes a major power surge, it may still function but it may also be near the end of its life span.

Replacing all surge protectors after a major power event is often recommended by experts.

The Batavian spoke to an electrician today who recommended checking all appliances.  Anything receiving an active electrical current at the time of Wednesday's surge could be toast, or close to it.

At least one resident in the area is without heat after the power surge damaged the circuitry of the forced air heater.

A National Grid crew member advised residents who suffered an economic loss as a result of the power surge to file a claim with National Grid.

Bertola said customers with claims can email National Grid at ClaimsDept@nationalgrid.com or by calling (315) 428-6536.

A law enforcement source said that typically, National Grid attempts to recover damages from the driver's insurance company -- and it appears this driver was insured -- when an accident damages a utility pole.

The damages, in this case, could include the pole and all of the subsequent residential repair work and any damages sustained by residents.

Workers with National Grid, as part of the company's Day of Service, volunteered today at the Salvation Army in Batavia to create a community garden space, clearing grass from the plot and installing some raised beds.

Batavia wants to buy back some lights from National Grid.

No small order, the purchase totals more than $226,000. The move will allow city public works crews to perform their own, more immediate, maintenance and repair of all lights throughout the city, City Manager Rachael Tabelski says.

“We do have a great working relationship (with National Grid). I think their ability to service the lights as quickly as they go out, sometimes it's difficult. They do their best to keep the lights up to date and to replace them, but there's definitely advantages to moving to the LED lights; we will have less outages,” Tabelski said during an interview with The Batavian. “And when we do have an outage, we'll be able to take care of them in house right in the city.”

Phase I to replace all regular lights with LEDs has begun, with a goal to have all LED lights in the city within the next six months, she said. This plan is to save on energy consumption, maintenance and expense while improving the overall quality of light that’s emitted.

According to the city’s presentation materials, LED (light-emitting diode) type lights are directional, which reduces light “trespass” onto adjacent properties and dark spots between street lights. They are also said to have a “higher color rendering index,” which allows the human eye to detect colors better, improving drivers’ ability to see pedestrians or other potential hazards.

City Council President Eugene Jankowski liked the idea when presented earlier this week at a council meeting.

“So they’ll be brighter, less costly, and we’ll have more control over them,” he said.

Council is expected to vote on the purchase of 948 lights for $226,038 at its July 11 meeting. A letter will also be sent to National Grid requesting the buyback, followed by a purchase and sales agreement to be approved by the Public Service Commission, Tabelski said.

Once the PSC approves, National Grid and the city of Batavia will close on the streetlight sale. At that point, the city will own and maintain its own lights, and will continue to pay National Grid for electric and delivery, but not for operations and maintenance costs.

The entire LED conversion program is to cost an estimated $1.7 million, to be paid for through long-term financing and the yearly cost savings of more energy efficient LEDs, Tabelski said.

Photo: Traditional streetlights, on the left, cast an orange glow, versus the whiter LED lights on the right. Photo part of the City of Batavia LED Street Light Conversion program.

There are two power outages reported by National Grid in Alexander, one affecting 372 customers and the other 907.

About half of the Village of Alexander is without power and that outage area stretches down Route 98 to Attica Central School, also north to Hunn Road and east almost to West Bethany/Molasses Hill Road.

The outage affecting 907 customers is along much of Route 238 and also covers a substantial portion of Wyoming County.

Nearly all of the National Grid service area in Wyoming County (a panhandle down the middle of the county) is without power.

The power outages in Alexander started at 2:54 p.m. and are expected to be resolved by 5 p.m.

A power outage affecting 1,548 National Grid customers is reported in the central part of the City of Batavia.

It was first reported at 11:43 p.m.

National Grid expects to restore power by 1:45 a.m.

The outage is approximately from Tops on the west side, along West Main to Ellicott Street at Swan Street, north nearly East Avenue, cutting diagonally toward the State School for the Blind to nearly the Thruway.  It takes in both sides of Oak Street from Main to the Thruway.

UPDATE 12:36 p.m.: There are now fewer than 700 customers without power.  Power appears to have been restored to customers south of Main Street.

Press release:

National Grid crews have restored power to 212,000, or 97%, of the nearly 221,000 upstate New York customers impacted by the severe windstorm that caused significant and widespread damage across the region over the weekend. The storm brought gusts of up to 80 mph in some regions and left behind hundreds of broken utility poles, damaged transformers, toppled trees, tree limbs and downed wires.

“While we have made steady progress, there is still work to be done and our expanded field force will continue to work around the clock to ensure every customer’s service is restored as safely and quickly as possible,” said Matt Barnett, National Grid’s Vice President of New York Electric Operations. He noted that the remaining outages are in regions that experienced the most extensive storm damage, including Erie, Genesee, Monroe, Orleans and Niagara counties in western New York, and Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties in northern New York.

“Our crews are in these regions continuing the hand-to-hand combat of cleanup, reconstruction and restoration. We understand the inconvenience of being without power and will continue to restore service hour by hour.”

The company is providing the following regional estimated times of restoration for customers who remain without service after the weekend storm. 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.

Northern New York: 95% of storm-related outages have been restored. Remaining single customer outages and isolated pockets of customers in the most severely impacted areas will be restored through the overnight hours and into Tuesday.

Western New York

• Southwest Region, including Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany counties: Any

  remaining storm-related outages will be restored by midnight tonight.

• Frontier Region, including Erie and Niagara counties: Restoration is expected to be

  complete by midnight tonight, with single customer outages and isolated pockets of customers in the most severely impacted areas being restored through the overnight hours and into Tuesday.

• Genesee Region, including Genesee, Orleans and Monroe counties: This region experienced the most extensive storm damage. Crews are in the field restoring service hour by hour and 95% of customers in these areas will have service restored by 5 p.m. Tuesday, with the remaining customers in the hardest-hit communities seeing power restored through Tuesday evening.

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

Once restoration has been completed, National Grid crews will remain in the field for the days that follow to complete storm cleanup. The company reminds motorists to use caution as they approach work areas, to ensure the safety of utility and other storm-response personnel.

Press release:

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 times of restoration 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. The company’s extensive resources, which include support from National Grid New England crews as well as crews from North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, Michigan, Indiana, Virginia, and Ontario, will remain in the region until the last outage is repaired.

“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.”

The distribution location is at City Fire headquarters on Evans Street.

Press release:

For the second consecutive weekend, National Grid has increased staffing, extended evening and overnight work shifts, and is closely monitoring weather forecasts that include wind gusts of up to 70 mph and heavy rainfall across portions of upstate New York today into Sunday. Areas along the shores of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario are expected to experience the strongest wind gusts. More than 2,500 lines, service, tree, damage assessment, and public safety workers are ready to respond to damage that may occur.

To prepare for the storm, the company activated its comprehensive emergency response plan, including:

• Calling in outside resources and mobilizing field and tree crews.
• Pre-staging crews and materials in areas anticipated to be most severely impacted.
• Proactively reaching out to elected, municipal and emergency management officials to keep them updated on our preparations and provide safety information.
• Reaching out directly to customers through traditional and social media, email and texts and on our website to provide safety information and to urge them to be prepared.
• Conducting outbound calls to life support and critical facility customers to ensure they are prepared.
  In addition, on Sunday, Dec. 12, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., the company will distribute dry ice and bottled water at targeted locations expected to be hardest hit by the storm.

​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:

• City of Batavia Fire Dept. 18 Evans St. Batavia, N.Y. 14020

The company also is 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.

Press release:

National Grid customers and local law enforcement are reporting utility billing and payment scams across upstate New York. The company is asking its customers to beware and know the signs of a scam.

Imposters claiming to be from National Grid may tell customers that they have past due balances on their utility bills, even promising a savings on their next bill. Customers who reported the scams, say they were contacted by telephone and email, and in some cases automated recordings.

The scammers threaten that service will be shut off immediately unless the customer purchases a prepaid debit card in a specific amount, such as a Green Dot card, and provides the caller with the card’s account number, or in the case of business customers, by way of a Western Union money transfer. Imposters also may ask for a Social Security number and a National Grid account number. These calls are not officially from National Grid and instead are from scammers who are looking to obtain personal information and payments.

The scenario can change, but the goal of the scammer remains the same: scare customers into making hasty decisions that often include large payments.

National Grid does contact customers with past due balances by phone to offer payment options, but never demands direct payment through the use of a prepaid debit card and never accepts payment through these cards.

Scammers have become increasingly sophisticated in replicating National Grid’s recorded messaging and directions for phone prompts, even spoofing the phone number on caller ID, making it more difficult to differentiate an actual National Grid call from an imposter’s call. Similar scams have been reported across the U.S. by other utilities.

Customers who believe they have fallen victim to the scam should contact local law enforcement officials immediately. If you are provided a phone number that does not match numbers on the billing statements, it is likely that the call is a scam.

National Grid reminds customers to know the red flags and offers the following tips:

• Be vigilant. If you believe you are current on your National Grid account, it is highly likely a call seeking payment is a scam.

• Protect yourself. Verify you are speaking with a National Grid representative. Ask the caller to provide the last five digits of your National Grid account number. If the caller doesn’t know your account number and phishes for help, take charge and hang up immediately.

• Do not take the bait. Scammers will not have access to your account information, social security number or other personal details and you should never offer that information if asked. National Grid representatives will know your account number.

• Scammers also may contact you by email and attempt to lure customers into clicking on a link, visiting a malicious website, revealing account information, or calling a phone number.

• While National Grid may ask for a payment to be made over the phone, the payment method will be left to the customer’s discretion.

• Do not fall for scare tactics and threats. National Grid will not contact customers demanding immediate payment by wire transfer, Green Dot Money-Pak or any other prepaid card service.

• Do not cave to pressure. Never -- under any circumstances -- offer personal or financial information to someone who you cannot identify.

• Every National Grid employee carries a photo ID card, and contractors working for the company are also required to carry ID. If someone requesting entry into your home or business does not show an ID card, don’t let that person in, and call National Grid or local law enforcement.

  To learn more about protecting you and your loved ones from scams, please visit ngrid.com/scam.