National Grid : Prepared for Hurricane Henri

Brooklyn and Hicksville, New York - National Grid has activated its emergency response plan - including increasing staffing, mobilizing and pre-staging crews and extending work shifts - in preparation for Hurricane Henri's potential impact on New York City and Long Island.

Among the company's preparations:

• Initiating patrols in low-lying areas to monitor for any impact from potential flooding.
• Updating local emergency management officials in Nassau and Suffolk counties and New York City Emergency Management on our preparations, providing safety information and coordinating response.
• Reaching out to customers through traditional and social media, email and on our website to provide safety and preparation information.
• Activating our Consumer Advocates who are contacting our special needs customers.
• Stocking our mobile community assistance van on Long Island with restoration information and supplies should it be needed.

In the event of a gas emergency, or if customers smell gas, National Grid advises customers to:

• Call 911 or National Grid's 24-hour gas emergency number:  for Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island at 718-643-4050; for Long Island and the Rockaway Peninsula call 1-800-490-0045.

In the event of service interruption, restoring gas service safely and efficiently is a three-step process:

1. Crews will go door-to-door to turn off affected gas meters and make any necessary repairs to the company's infrastructure.
2. Once repairs are completed, crews will inspect, monitor and verify the system's safety and integrity.
3. Once steps one and two are completed crews will again go door-to-door to turn on gas meters and relight customer appliances.

The company also offers the following safety tips for customers in the event of severe flooding:

• 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 have shut your gas service off for safety reasons, please contact a licensed plumbing or heating contractor before contacting National Grid. The licensed plumbing or heating contractor should verify that your gas appliances are safe to operate before National Grid restores gas service.
• Don't forget to check outdoor natural gas appliances, such as pool heaters and gas grills.
• Listen for important announcements on television and radio from emergency officials about possible evacuations or other emergency procedures.
• Check on elderly family members, neighbors and others who may need assistance during an outage.

For further information on safety and reliability, customers should visit the following pages on our website: New York City Safety and Reliability and Long Island Safety and Reliability.