National Grid : Restores Power to 90% of Upstate New York Customers Impacted by Damaging Snow and Wind Storm

National Grid crews have restored power to 200,000, or 90 percent, of the 221,000 upstate New York customers impacted by the severe weather that caused significant and widespread damage across central, northern and eastern New York this week. The storm brought 18 inches of snow and wind gusts of up to 50 mph in some areas, leaving hundreds of toppled trees, tree limbs and downed wires in its wake.

"The remaining repairs are labor- and resource-intensive, including pole replacements and single-customer and isolated pockets of outages, which will take additional time," Barnett said. "We thank all of our customers for their patience and understanding as we make strides toward complete restoration of service. Our field force of 3,600 workers will remain active in the region until the last outage is repaired."

The company is providing the following general estimated times of restoration for customers who remain without service. Power is being consistently restored to customers in these regions and ETRs are updated on the company's Outage Central site. Additionally, customers can check on the power restoration estimatesfor their specific addressesby logging into our Report or Check an Outage page.

Eastern New York:

• • Essex, Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery, Otsego, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie Washington and Warren counties: Restoration is expected to be completed by 11:30 p.m. tonight, with isolated pockets and scattered single outages restored into tomorrow.

Central New York:

• Chenango, Cortland, Onondaga and Oswego counties: Restoration will be completed this evening for the remaining small number of customers without power.
• Clinton, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties: Restoration has been completed, with isolated pockets and scattered single outages restored into the evening and through early tomorrow.
• Herkimer, Madison and Oneida counties: Remain the hardest hit areas and restoration is expected to be completed by 11:30 p.m. Thursday.

Dry Ice Locations

National Grid will distribute dry ice and bottled water to customers on Thursday, April 21, from noon to 4 p.m. at the locations below.Company personnel will provide information about the proper handling of dry ice, and customers are asked to bring a small cooler or shopping bag to transport it. The dry ice locations also can be found on National Grid's Outage Central map.

Central New York Dry Ice and Bottled Water Locations for April 21:

Herkimer County

Old Forge Fire Dept.
116 Fulton St.
Old Forge, NY

Poland Fire Dept.
216 Main St.
Cold Brook, NY

Eastern New York Dry Ice and Bottled Water Locations for April 21:

Fulton County
Fulton County Emergency Management Office
231 N. Perry St.
Johnstown, NY

Warren County
Chestertown Fire Dept.
5885 NYS Route 8
Chestertown, NY

The Restoration Process
The company's first priority is to ensure the safety of our customers and our crews by clearing away dangers such as live, downed power lines. Next come repairs to main transmission facilities, including towers, poles and high-tension wires that deliver power to thousands of customers. Recovery work at local substations also is a high priority, followed by repairs to

neighborhood circuits, transformers, and service wires. Click here for a video on how National Grid restores power after a storm.

Estimated Restoration Times

• In the early stages of a storm, the restoration times on National Grid's Outage Central site may be listed as "assessing conditions." This is because debris such as trees, tree limbs, and downed wires, must be cleared away so that damage to our equipment can be assessed and restoration plans can be executed.
• It's normal for outage numbers and Estimated Restoration Times to fluctuate as we de-energize lines to make conditions safe for repairs. Additionally, there could be new outages that occur if strong, damaging winds continue.
• Outage Central Reminder: Our Outage Central page shows the estimated time of restoration for communities and reflects the estimated time for the last customer in that community to have power restored. The most accurate way for customers to check on the power restoration estimate for their specific address is to log into our Report or Check Outage page.

The company is also encouraging customers to keep safety a priority with the following reminders:

Electricity & Generator Safety

• If a power outage occurs, customers can notify National Grid online to expedite restoration.
• Never touch downed power lines; always assume they are carrying live electricity. Downed lines should be immediately reported to National Grid at 1-800-867-5222 or by calling 911.
• Generators used to supply power during an outage must be operated outdoors to prevent the buildup of deadlycarbon monoxide. Before operating a generator, be sure to disconnect from National Grid's system by shutting off the main breaker, located in the electric service panel. Failure to do this could endanger our crews and your neighbors.
• Customers who depend on electrically powered life support equipment, such as a respirator, should register as a life support customer by calling National Grid at 1-800-642-4272. In a medical emergency, always dial 911.
• Keep working flashlights and an extra supply of batteries in your home and be sure to charge all electronic devices before the storm.
• Please use caution when driving near emergency responders and crews restoring power.
• Be sure to check on elderly family members, neighbors and others who may need assistance during an outage.

Stay informed and connected

• Customers with active electricity accounts who text 'REG' to 64743 canhave personalized alerts sent to them via text, email, or phone call when we detect an outage on their properties.
• Customers also can text 'OUT' to 64743 to report an outage.
• For real-time power outage information, online outage reporting, and in-depth storm safety information, visit National Grid's Outage Central website. Customers who create an online profile also can sign up for email alerts.
• Customers can read the latest company news, check outage status, and report an outage by using the National Grid app.
• Visit our website: www.nationalgridus.com, follow us on Twitter and friend us on Facebook.