BUFFALO, N.Y. — There were significant power outages in Western New York during the blizzard that hit over the past weekend. Many people were left without power for significant stretches of time.
As of Tuesday evening, National Grid said it restored electricity service to 98% or 105,700 of the 107,700 Western New York customers affected by the historic multi-day blizzard.
At a briefing on Wednesday, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said the National Guard is conducting wellness checks on sites that were without power for extended periods of time. These checks will be done in an effort to discover any fatalities that may have occurred during these power outages.
"If your neighborhood lost power, you're going to see a member of the National Guard starting now for the next 48 house, who's going to knock on your door, 'Is everyone OK? Was there any issues? Is anyone sick,'" Poloncarz said.
EMS will also be doing wellness checks to locations they were not able to respond to during the height of the storm.
Poloncarz also reminded people that if their power was out for 72 hours or more that they are due compensation from their power company for spoiled food or medication.
The reimbursement would be credited to your bill. Reimbursement must be sought within 14 days of the power outage. Claims can be filed with NYSEG by calling 866-577-3787 option 3 and National Grid at 315-428-3370.
National Grid said its field force of nearly 3,000 line, service, tree, damage assessment, and public safety workers will remain on the ground and continue to partner with state and local agencies to gain access to the remaining damage so that repairs can be completed.
On Wednesday at 10:35 a.m., around 1,600 National Grid customers in Erie County were without power. Power is expected to be restored to those customers by 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday.