Community Corner

NYSEG Braces for Wednesday's Storm

NYSEG officials say they've restored service to 94 percent of their Brewster division customers but a developing storm could cause further damage to facilities.

As Westchester recovers from the superstorm that battered the region last week, NYSEG officials are bracing for wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour, rain and possibly even snow that could damage facilities and cause power outages in the area.

In a press release sent Thursday night, the utility company said it's continuing its "full court press" power restoration efforts but planning for new possible interruptions.

“Even as we continue to rebuild our facilities and restore service to customers in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, we are planning for resources and materials to be available to address any new power interruptions the Nor’easter may cause,” said Mark S. Lynch, president of NYSEG and RG&E. “We can count on our people to respond to whatever Mother Nature throws at us.”

Find out what's happening in Bedford-Katonahwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

On the progress the company has made since Sandy struck last Monday, NYSEG reported the following:

  • NYSEG’s 3,500-member team has restored service to 70,963 (94%) of the 75,738 customers who lost power in the Brewster Division (parts of Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess counties) and 28,562 (99%) of the 28,772 customers who lost power in the Liberty Division (parts of Sullivan, Orange, Delaware and Ulster counties) as a result of unprecedented damage from Hurricane Sandy.
  • The team includes more than 650 line and tree crews from as far away as British Columbia.
  • Restored power to all elementary, middle and high schools.
  • Replaced 902 of the 1,012 poles broken in its downstate service area.
  • Continues to be in contact with the few life support and critical customers whose power has yet to be restored. (Service has been restored to all health care facilities).
  • Will distribute dry ice and bottled water for the duration of the event. Thus far, more than 1 million pounds of dry ice and nearly 65,000 gallons of bottled water have been distributed, mostly in the Brewster and Liberty Divisions.

“Our employees and the contractors who have joined us from across the U.S. and Canada have done an excellent job, often working in difficult conditions,” Lynch said. “The fact that our team has worked safely and the results they have achieved in reducing the number of customer outages speak for themselves.”

Find out what's happening in Bedford-Katonahwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

There were 3,800 customers without power in Westchester County as of Thursday night, down from over 31,000 a week ago.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here