ROCHESTER, NY — NYSEG and RG&E, subsidiaries of AVANGRID (NYSE: AGR), are monitoring weather forecasts in advance of a potential wind storm forecasted for New York State. High winds are expected to begin Sunday morning, lasting through the day and possibly into Monday impacting NYSEG and RG&E service areas in western New York. Forecasts are showing potential winds above 70 m.p.h. in the Companies’ Lancaster (portions of Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie and Wyoming counties), Lockport (portions of Niagara and Orleans Counties), Rochester and Sodus (portions of Livingston, Monroe, Wayne and Cayuga counties) divisions; above 50 m.p.h. in the Canandaigua (portions of Ontario county) and Hornell (portions of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Livingston, Steuben, and Wyoming counties) divisions; and above 40 m.p.h. in the Fillmore (portions of Allegany, Genesee, Livingston, and Wyoming counties) division. Forecasted wind speeds in other NYSEG areas remain at or below the 30-40 m.p.h. range at present. Customers are urged to monitor forecasts throughout the weekend and stay safe.
NYSEG’s and RG&E’s storm readiness teams have prepared crews and equipment to have additional resources in place to respond to downed power lines and potential power interruptions caused by the significant winds forecasted. In addition to company crews, the Companies have also secured additional contract line and tree resources that are being staged across the western portions of our service area beginning on Saturday. NYSEG and RG&E encourage customers to sign up for Outage Alerts to receive updates throughout the day automatically by phone, text, or email as the company updates the status of any restoration process in their area. This information is also available online at http://www.nyseg.com/Outages/outageinformation.html or http://www.rge.com/Outages/outageinformation.html.
Power Restoration Priorities
NYSEG’s and RG&E’s first priorities are to respond to known incidents of downed power lines to make the situations safe. (NYSEG customers are asked to call 1-800-572-1131 to report downed wires. RG&E customers are asked to call 1-800-743-1701.) Once this vital public safety work is complete, the company will assess the damage to the electricity delivery system and develop a detailed restoration plan. Crews will make repairs as quickly as possible.
NYSEG’s and RG&E’s first priorities are to respond to known incidents of downed power lines to make the situations safe. (NYSEG customers are asked to call 1-800-572-1131 to report downed wires. RG&E customers are asked to call 1-800-743-1701.) Once this vital public safety work is complete, the company will assess the damage to the electricity delivery system and develop a detailed restoration plan. Crews will make repairs as quickly as possible.
Restoring Power Following Major Storms
We first repair the backbone of the electricity system – transmission lines and substations – that bring electricity to the local distribution system that serves our customers. We then make any necessary repairs to the distribution system that includes the poles and power lines along streets and roads, focusing first on those circuits where we can restore power to the largest number of customers. As part of this process, we take into account the needs of hospitals, nursing homes, fire and police stations, as well as any other critical infrastructure. This is a time-proven process that ensures we safely restore service as quickly and efficiently as possible.
We first repair the backbone of the electricity system – transmission lines and substations – that bring electricity to the local distribution system that serves our customers. We then make any necessary repairs to the distribution system that includes the poles and power lines along streets and roads, focusing first on those circuits where we can restore power to the largest number of customers. As part of this process, we take into account the needs of hospitals, nursing homes, fire and police stations, as well as any other critical infrastructure. This is a time-proven process that ensures we safely restore service as quickly and efficiently as possible.
