Wind gusts of upwards of 50 miles an hour caused sporadic power outages for hundreds of customers in Hilton and Brighton on Monday.
RG&E and National Grid both hadadditional crews prepared to help homes and businesses regain power from gusts that can reach up to 60 miles per hour.
“The companies are readying approximately 100 additional crews to assist with restoration efforts,” the companies said in a joint statement. “Company and contractor crews will be onsite and prepared to facilitate an effective and efficient response should outages occur. Resources will be placed on a rotational schedule to assist response efforts during the overnight hours. The line and tree crews will be prepared to respond to any wind or snow related issues with bucket trucks, auger trucks, wood chippers, dump trucks and backhoes.”
Some tips the two energy companies have for people:
- If you see a downed power lines, do not touch it and stay at least 30 feet away
- If a downed wire touches your car, stay inside and wait for help
- Generators must be outdoors to prevent the buildup of carbon monoxide
- Turn off your main breaker before turning on your generator
- Keep flashlights and spare batteries around in your home for situations like this
One resident in the town of Brighton explained what he did when he first realized his power was out.
“I checked the neighbor’s lights, because our neighborhood is strange because we are on different lines,” Ralph Damerell said. “I saw that some of my neighbors had lights and some of them didn’t, which is not unusual around here.”
You can report downed power lines to RG&E at 1-800-743-1701. National Grid says you can always call 911 to report it as well.
For additional information, including storm preparation tips, storm safety information, generator safety information, restoration priorities and emergency resources, visit Outage Central at NYSEG.com and RGE.com.