BUFFALO, N.Y. — Portions of Upstate New York are expected to see high winds with gusts up to 60 mph and wintery weather that could cause potential power outages starting Sunday night through Monday night.
National Grid and New York State Election and Gas Corporation have independently been tracking the weather since last week and have similarly made the decision to add additional resources, including line and tree crews, to help with restoration efforts if and when necessary.
Ken Kujawa is a Regional Director for National Grid and says the company has decided to be proactive and has already activated its comprehensive emergency response plan.
"It's our game plan for when we anticipate storm events to happen," Kujawa says. "Basically what it involves is the company preparing our resources, which are crews, and putting them in the position to respond as quickly as possible."
In addition to crews here in Western New York, National Grid has called in crews from the Midwest for assistance as well.
"When and if we do have power outages, we'll be able to hit the ground running," Kujawa emphasizes.
NYSEG is taking a similarly proactive approach.
Kelly Packard is a Corporate Communications Manager with the company and says, "we have brought in an additional 100 crews to assist with our restoration efforts throughout the evening and tomorrow."
Both companies are urging customers to download their respective apps and check their websites frequently for timely updates on outages.
"Keep checking the outage alerts section of our website," Packard says.
And then there are safety measures to keep in mind, especially as it pertains to storms and power outages.
Kujawa tells 2 On Your Side, "If you see a wire that is down on the ground, always assume that it's live, do not touch, do not try to move it. In addition, if a customer has an operating a portable generator, operate that portable generator as far from your house as possible, do not pot it in your garage or your basement to avoid carbon monoxide fumes."
Packard adds, "keep battery-operated flashlights around, make sure you have supplies of food and water, make sure your devices are charged, and car fuel tanks are full."
If you need to report an outage with National Grid, call 1-800-867-5222.
If you need to report an outage with NYSEG, call 1-800-572-1131.