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Power restored for nearly 10,000 St. Lawrence County households but some may have no electricity until Saturday

Posted 1/13/12

The number of St. Lawrence County households without electricity was down to 2,385 by 9 p.m. tonight, down from more than 12,000 earlier in the day, but some customers may not have power restored …

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Power restored for nearly 10,000 St. Lawrence County households but some may have no electricity until Saturday

Posted

The number of St. Lawrence County households without electricity was down to 2,385 by 9 p.m. tonight, down from more than 12,000 earlier in the day, but some customers may not have power restored until tomorrow.

National Grid officials say crews are currently working on restoration to customers in northern New York with additional crews on the way from across the state. Between tonight and tomorrow, more than 180 electric line and tree crews will be engaged in the restoration effort, National Grid officials said today.

Areas in St. Lawrence County still without power include Lisbon, Oswegatchie and Stockholm. Many in the Canton and Ogdensburg areas have regained power.

Last night about a half an inch of freezing rain fell in northern New York, clinging to trees and power lines. This morning, freezing rain turned to snow and wind picked up through the day causing outages to approx.

At the peak, 19,000 residents and businesses were affected in St. Lawrence, Franklin, Jefferson and Lewis counties, National Grid officials said. Outages occurred mainly due to fallen trees, limbs, and pole damage.

Crews will be restoring power this evening, throughout the night and into tomorrow, said James Pierie, National Grid Director of Overhead Lines.

“If weather cooperates and restoration goes as planned, we expect to have the majority of our customers restored by tomorrow afternoon and complete restoration by the end of the day tomorrow,” he said.

Heavy wet snow and icing conditions continue to hamper restoration activities, limiting access to some damaged infrastructure and making many roads and side streets difficult to navigate.

National Grid continues to communicate with communities and municipal officials throughout the affected regions to keep them updated on restoration efforts and asks customers to be patient while crews work to restore power as safely and quickly as possible.

National Grid urges anyone who sees a wire down to assume that it is live, keep away from it, and call 1-800-867-5222 to report it immediately.

National Grid advises customers to be prepared. Heavy snow can cause local electrical service interruptions. In addition, as snow and ice melts and sagging trees and limbs rebound, additional outages can occur.

It’s a good idea to have a number of working flashlights, at least one battery-operated radio and an extra supply of batteries in your home. A radio is a good way to stay in touch, as National Grid provides news media with timely information regarding service restoration efforts.

Also, post National Grid’s emergency outage reporting number -- 1-800-867-5222 -- near your telephone so it will be handy if needed.

National Grid provides real-time outage information, including the option to report an outage at www.nationalgridus.com in the Outage Central section of the company web pages.

National Grid offers the following tips for customers to minimize inconvenience and maximize safety in the event that storm-related power interruptions do occur:

• Never touch downed power lines, and always assume that any fallen lines are live electric wires. If you see one, report it immediately to National Grid or your local emergency response organization.

• If you use a generator to supply power during an outage, be sure to only operate it outdoors. Before operating generators, 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 jeopardize crew safety.

• If you lose power, turn off any appliances that were on when the power went off, but leave one light on so you will know when power is restored.

• Power problems can sometimes interrupt public water supply systems or disable well pumps, so it’s an especially good idea to keep a supply of bottled drinking water handy, as well as some canned food.

• People who depend on electric-powered life support equipment, such as a respirator, should let National Grid know. To register as a National Grid life support customer, call the company’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-642-4272.

* National Grid customers who experience outages should call National Grid’s outage line at 1-800-867-5222 immediately to expedite restoration.

* Check on elderly family members, neighbors and others who may need assistance during an outage period.

National Grid emergency crews follow a time-tested plan to begin restoring service as safely and quickly as conditions allow. Accurate damage surveys, resource assessments and restoration estimates are critical in the preliminary stages of any major weather event. Credible and consistent communication with local public officials and the media is maintained throughout the duration of the restoration effort.

First, crews clear away hazards such as live, downed lines. The clean-up of storm-damaged trees and branches removed from electric facilities remains the responsibility of the customer or property owner, whether private or municipal.

Next come repairs to main transmission facilities, including towers, poles and high-tension wires that deliver power from generating plants. Recovery work at local substations is also a high priority, because power flows from transmission lines through substations on its way to you.

Circuits and transformers in neighborhoods and the wires that connect them to your home come next -- starting with areas that involve the most customers.