Thousands in Orleans without power will have to wait until Saturday for restoration
Photo by Tom Rivers: The lights were out at about noon today at the traffic lights in Kendall at the intersection of routes 237 and 18.
National Grid said it has made “significant progress” restoring power in western and central New York. By tonight, the company said it will have 90 percent of its customers with power who lost electricity from the powerful wind storm on Wednesday.
The company as of 6:45 p.m. had 17,560 customers without power, including 5,936 in Orleans County.
The company will be focusing on the hardest hit areas on Saturday, which includes portions of Monroe, Orleans, Genesee and Wyoming counties.
The timetable for the 10 towns in Orleans County includes the following:
• Albion, 88 customers to be restored by 10 p.m. Saturday;
• Barre, 357 without power to be restored by 8 p.m. Saturday;
• Carlton, 933 without power to be restored by 2 p.m. Saturday;
• Clarendon, 1,056 without electricity to be restored by 10 p.m. Saturday;
• Gaines, 153 customers to be restored by 10 p.m. Saturday;
• Kendall, 1,274 without power to be restored by 10 p.m. Saturday;
• Murray, 1,135 customers to be restored by 10 p.m. Saturday;
• Shelby, fewer than 5 customers to be restored by 6 p.m. on Saturday;
• Ridgeway, 183 to be restored by 8 p.m. Saturday;
• Yates, 378 customers to be restored by 2 p.m. Saturday.
“Our crews have made significant progress last night and through today and we have received outstanding support from state, county and local first-responders and emergency coordinators,” said Melanie Littlejohn, National Grid’s New York vice president. “However there is challenging work ahead and our job is not done until we have connected every customer.”
Doug Pratt of Lyndonville sent in this photo of a tree that fell in front of house during Wednesday’s wind storm. Pratt said three trees came down on his property, which is the Robin Hill Nature Preserve on Platten Road.
Littlejohn noted that the equipment damage, particularly in rural areas, is severe and progress will be slow and steady.
“The final hours of our restoration process are always the most labor and time intensive,” she said. “The number of customers restored by each repair job typically is smaller because the remaining damage affects very small pockets of customers, sometimes even a single customer.”
The company also urges the public to exercise safety around electricity wires and other equipment. Downed lines should be immediately reported to your local emergency response organization or by calling National Grid at 1-800-867-5222.
Additionally, if you use a generator to supply power during an outage, be sure to only operate it outdoors, National Grid advised.
Regardless of ventilation, never operate a generator indoors. Before operating a generator, 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 endanger our crews and your neighbors, Littlejohn said.
In Orleans County, the American Red Cross has closed its shelter at Medina High School and moved it to the Kendall Town Hall, where food and cots will be available overnight at 1873 Kendall Rd.
Other warming centers will continue to be available at: Lyndonville Fire Hall on Main Street and the Eastern Orleans Community Center, 75 Public Square in Holley.
