National Grid's Emergency Planning Well Under Way As Hurricane Irene Advances Toward Upstate New York

ALBANY, NY (08/27/2011)(readMedia)-- As Hurricane Irene makes her way up the eastern seaboard, National Grid's emergency plans in anticipation of her arrival are well under way.

Earlier this week, National Grid Operations, Emergency Planning and a host of other departments began preparing for the potential impacts of Irene, which has the potential to bring damaging winds, torrential rains and tidal surges that could cause widespread flooding. Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has declared a State of Emergency in New York in preparation for the potential impact of Hurricane Irene.

"Irene has the potential to be a very destructive and dangerous storm, and we are planning accordingly," said Ken Daly, president, National Grid New York. "We want our customers to know that we are working around the clock to prepare so we can do our best for them if Irene brings her worst." Daly added, "At this point it's unclear how much damage our electricity and gas system will sustain, but we should be able to set expectations for our customers fairly quickly once we get into the heart of the storm as to whether we're looking at a few days, a week or more."

.National Grid is bringing in hundreds of extra crews from as far away as Michigan, Indiana, Mississippi, Florida, Wisconsin and Ohio to help restore power to affected customers. Employees of National Grid's natural gas business are finalizing plans in the event of major flooding that could affect that system. Thousands of other employees who will support the restoration with functions such as engineering, damage assessment, materials, logistics, and more already are hard at work planning for Irene. The Customer Service centers are gearing up to handle increased calls from customers. Staging areas are being established around National Grid's service area so that crews can be deployed to affected areas more quickly. Personnel and materials are being pre-staged to the areas that are likely to see the most damage to save precious time and speed the restoration once the storm subsides. Lodging and meal arrangements are being finalized for the outside crews so they can be housed and fed as close to the affected areas as possible – another way to help make the restoration safe and efficient.

Staying Informed about the Storm and Restoration

"We know our customers look to us for information on what we are doing to prepare for Irene and what they should do to be ready and be safe," said Daly. "We have provided customers with many options to stay informed before, during and after the storm."

They include:

• www.nationalgridus.com - get important storm and safety information and the latest on power outages from Outage Central
• Outage Central – electricity customers can find information about outages by logging on to www.nationalgridus.com. Look for the Outage Central banner and select your state to report an outage, see an outage map, and get town-specific outage information
• E-mail – thousands of National Grid customers already receive storm and other information via e-mail. To sign up, go to www.nationalgridus.com and click on the "Let's Connect" banner to submit your e-mail address
• National Grid Emergency Numbers -- Keep National Grid's upstate New York power outage reporting number, 1-800-867-5222, handy in case you need it. For natural gas emergencies in upstate New York, call 1-800-892-2345
• Twitter – follow us @nationalgridus to get important updates and sign up to get National Grid tweets texted to your mobile device
• News media – National Grid provides important information and announcements about storm preparations, safety, storm impacts and restoration efforts to the media. Stay tuned to stay informed.

Customers Urged to Stay Safe During and After the Storm

National Grid is concerned about your safety and that of your family. One of the best ways to ensure the safety of loved ones is by preparing for a storm. Here's how:

• Life support customers -- If you depend on electric-powered life support equipment, such as a respirator, make sure that you notify us. If you have a medical emergency always dial 911.
• 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.
• Secure it or bring it inside – Be sure to safely secure or bring inside outdoor furniture, patio umbrellas, toys and sports equipment, grills, and anything else that could be damaged or become a dangerous airborne projectile during the storm

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.

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