WESTERN NEW YORK — NYSEG and Rochester Gas and Electric could be on the hook for millions of dollars in fines after a state investigation into last March's windstorm.
During a widespread windstorm on March 8 and 9, about 100,000 customers in total were without power, and the two utility companies are being blamed for keeping those customers in the dark for days.
An investigation into the restoration delays was ordered by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the State Public Service Commission released its findings Thursday.
The commission wrote in a report that both NYSEG and RG&E violated their own emergency response plans, which greatly impacted their ability to restore power to residents.
Among the scathing remarks, the Public Service Commission wrote, "Neither company was able to fully secure downed wires reported by municipal officials within the required 36-hour time period, which put public safety at risk."
The state also ripped the companies for not keeping customers in the know about restoration times, "which created customer uncertainty."
The state singled out RG&E, writing that it "failed to create a priority list of critical facilities impacted" and that its call center was not staffed appropriately.
"I don’t consider three days to restore power an adequate response plan. I want to know what happened,” Cuomo told the D&C in the aftermath of the storms. “The pattern of extreme weather is to be expected, and utility companies have an added burden today of being ready for emergency situations.”
The state found no issues with how National Grid handled the situation.
NYSEG and RG&E have 30 days to respond to the criticisms.
The companies, subsidiaries of AVANGRID, released the following statement on the state's findings.
The unprecedented weather that resulted in the March windstorm posed great challenges to our communities, employees, contractors, assisting utilities, and municipal partners who all worked tirelessly to safely restore power to all customers. NYSEG and RG&E's priorities during any storm are the restoration of service to our customers and the safety of our communities, customers, employees and contractors.