National Grid Restoration Effort in Full Swing; Company Continues to Urge Caution Around Downed Wires & Trees

. (08/29/2011)(readMedia)-- The full extent of damage caused by Hurricane Irene is becoming more apparent as National Grid personnel thoroughly work through the company's service areas in Eastern and Central New York. More than 3,000 restoration and support personnel are working around the clock to restore electric service to the 71,000 homes and business still affected in the storm's wake, as of 7 p.m. today.

National Grid crews from the region and other parts of the company's New York territory are being supported by hundreds of contractor and utility crews from as far away as Iowa and Tennessee.

"The full extent of the storm's wrath becomes clearer by the minute as we continue our damage assessments through the region," said Ken Daly, president, National Grid New York. "The unprecedented combination of damaging winds and torrential rains through most of the day yesterday brought down hundreds of trees and power lines, and flooded a significant number of our facilities.

"While we are making progress and have restored service to thousands, we continue to be hampered in many areas by flooding concerns, closed roads and bridges, and trees and limbs that will need to be removed over an extended period of time."

The company is estimating that service was interrupted to as many as 156,000 customers in upstate New York. Crews have restored service to more than 84,000 homes and businesses thus far.

Under the company's priority system, repair crews typically first address problems with transmission lines and substations that restore critical customers such as hospitals and public safety facilities and serve large numbers of customers.

While those problems are being resolved, crews begin to work on substations and primary lines that serve many customers. Crews then target lines that serve local neighborhoods. Lines and transformers within neighborhoods and the wires that connect them to homes and businesses come next, starting with areas that involve the most customers.

Staying Safe During and After the Storm

• It is very important to be aware of and avoid potential safety hazards during and after the storm. As the weather improves and people begin to clean up around their homes and business, the company urges extreme caution around electrical wires or other equipment that may be on the ground.
• National Grid offers the following guidance to customers:
• Continue to monitor www.nationalgridus.com and @nationalgridus on Twitter for important information from National Grid; text Irene to 50101 to receive mobile updates from us on storm restoration efforts. stay tuned to your local news media for important information from emergency management and public safety agencies.
• Disconnect sensitive appliances, such as computers, televisions and microwaves to avoid potential power surge damage when electricity is restored.
• Keep refrigerator and freezer doors shut-food will last six to nine hours in a refrigerator without spoiling. Frozen foods will keep about 24 hours.
• Generator safety – if you use a generator make sure your wiring system is disconnected from our system before operating the generator. When using a portable generator, make sure the main circuit breaker in your electric service panel box is in the "off" position. If you have a fuse box instead of breakers, pull out the main block, remove the fuses and reinsert the empty block. This is necessary to prevent your generator's electricity from going back into our system, which could endanger the lives of line crews and your neighbors. Also, it's required by the National Electrical Code. Be sure to only use generators outdoors. Exhaust fumes contain poisonous carbon monoxide and can kill or cause serious injury.
• If your home floods:
  
  • Check with an electrician before turning on anything.
  • Do not turn off the gas meter even in the event of an evacuation. The gas meter should be left on to maintain proper pressure in the gas piping within the house and to prevent water from entering the lines should flooding occur.
  • Most gas appliances have safety valves that shut off the flow of gas automatically if the pilot light goes out. If your appliances have been in contact with water, please contact a licensed plumbing or heating contractor to make sure the appliances are safe to operate.
  • If we shut off your gas service for safety reasons, we will provide instructions on steps required to safely restore service. Don't forget to check outdoor appliances, such as pool heaters and gas grills.
• If you anticipate an extended electricity or gas outage, consider moving yourself and your family - especially those with special needs - to an alternate location.
• Consider checking on others who may benefit from your assistance.

Log on to www.nationalgridus.com for more information on how to stay safe during and after Irene.

National Grid is an international energy delivery company. In the U.S., National Grid delivers electricity to approximately 3.3 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island, and manages the electricity network on Long Island under an agreement with the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA). It is the largest distributor of natural gas in the northeastern U.S., serving approximately 3.4 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island. National Grid also owns over 4,000 megawatts of contracted electricity generation that provides power to over one million LIPA customers.