Latest news with #NewYorkStateElectric&Gas
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
What to know about Mohawk Valley cleanup, power restoration, closed roads after tornado
The EF-1 tornado that created a 2½-mile path of destruction, including the death of three people in Clark Mills in the early hours of June 22, also led to power outages across the Mohawk Valley, disrupted the final days of school, and more questions from local officials about New York's part in financial assistance for storm cleanup. Kayleigh Bisson's twin daughters were killed in the tornado, and Shelly Johnson, 50, died in a separate home in Clark Mills when a tree crashed through the roof of her house. New York State Electric & Gas and National Grid reported power outages for thousands of residents following the storms − the tornado touched down at 3:58 in Oneida County, and officials continue to monitor closed roads and will now help residents with cleanup and financial assistance. Around-the-clock repair efforts included more than 2,500 power workers with crews coming from as far away as Louisiana, Oklahoma and New Brunswick in Canada. Updates: Cleanup across Mohawk Valley begins after fatal Clark Mills tornado Original report: Deadly tornado sweeps through Oneida County. Fundraiser created for family New York State Electric & Gas reported that about 17,000 customers lost power across its service area June 22 with about 697 outages remaining in Oneida County, one in Herkimer County and 40 in Madison County as of 2:15 p.m. on June 23. Customers who are still without power can log into their online accounts to see the time the company estimates their power will go back on, and the Observer-Dispatch data page also tracks power outages. They can also sign up for outage alerts to receive texts, emails or phone calls with restoration updates. OFF THE GRID: United States Power Outage Map National Grid is projecting that all its customers in Herkimer, Madison and Oneida counties will have their service restored by 11:30 p.m. June 24, although the company is warning that small pockets with power outages in hard-to-reach areas might not get their power back until June 25. The storm on June 22 caused outages for 104,300 National Grid customers, but the company has restored power to more than 90,700 of them by 5 p.m. June 23, according to National Grid. The hardest hit areas were Oneida, Herkimer, Madison, Lewis, Oswego and Jefferson counties. Around-the-clock repair efforts included more than 2,500 workers with crews coming from as far away as Louisiana, Oklahoma and New Brunswick in Canada. 'This storm created an extraordinary amount of damage to our communities and to our electric system,' said Zach Butcher, National Grid's director of electric maintenance in a statement. 'We sustained more than 120 broken poles, which is a labor-intensive repair for our crews, in addition to downed wires, damaged transformers and uprooted trees on our power lines. 'Cleanup, reconstruction and restoration has been and will continue to be time-consuming, and our crews will remain out there in full force to bring service back to customers as quickly and safely as possible.' Repairing one utility pole can take a crew as long as six hours, National Grid spokesman Jared Paventi said. The tornado and storms also caused a lot of damage to lines in remote, off-road areas, which means moving trucks and other equipment off road and all the hazards that go along with that, he said. And the heavy tree damage has also meant that crews have to remove debris before they can begin their repairs, Paventi said. Adding to all that is the extreme heat in which those crews are working National Grid will distribute dry ice, frozen ice and bottled water on June 24 at these locations: Clark Mills Volunteer Fire Department, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. 207 N. James St., Rome (next to Veterans Memorial Park), 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. VFW Post 600, 3835 Canal Road, Canastota, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Bring along a cooler or paper grocery bags to transport the dry ice. National Grid will supply information on how to handle it safely. As of mid-afternoon on June 23, six Oneida County roads remained closed due to downed power lines: West South Street in Westmoreland between Fairway Drive and Deans Highway. Dix Road in Westmoreland between Lawrence Street and Bartlett Road. Lawrence Street in Rome and Westmoreland between Dewey Road and Dix Road. Buck Hill Road in Western and Steube between State Route 46 and North Steuben Road. Taberg-Florence Road in Florence and Camden between Skinner Settlement Road and Wolcott Hill Road. McConnellsville Road in Vienna between Kimball Road and Teelin Road. Starting June 24, the Oneida County Health Department, Department of Mental Health and Department of Family and Community Services will offer assistance and support services from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily throughout the week at the Kirkland Senior Center at 2 Mill Street in Clark Mills and at Connected Community Schools at 207 N. James St. in Rome. Help is also available at the Oneida County Office Building in Utica. Oneida County is partnering with the Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties to establish a recovery fund for storm victims just like it did after last year's tornado in Rome. Residents may apply for up to $5,000 to cover insurance deductibles, electrical hook ups, home security measures, relocation costs, moderate repairs, tree removal and Dumpster rentals. Details on how to apply will be released within the next few days. Anyone who needs help because of the storms can call the Oneida County Help Line, which will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. from June 24 through the end of the week, at 315-798-5502. The National Weather Service currently notifies residents of weather-related emergencies through the New York Alerts notification system. But Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente Jr. said he heard from people who didn't get a notification about the storms. He said he got a notification on one of his two phones — during the middle of the storm. And he never got an alert about the tornado in Rome last year, Picente said. He talked to people who did receive the alert, but with only a few seconds to respond to the warning, he said. The county has looked into the warning system and intends to talk more to the National Weather Service and learn more about what can be done, he said. 'I'm not certain whether or not, in that circumstance, we'd be able to give people enough time,' he said. 'I think the bigger question,' Picente added, 'is why are we getting so many tornadoes when we didn't for 20 years. (This story has been updated with additional photos.) This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Clark Mills NY tornado cleanup, power outages, closed roads, help
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oberacker wants investigation of utility companies
State Sen. Peter Oberacker on Wednesday called on the state Senate Investigations and Government Operations Committee to launch a full-scale investigation into the practices of utility companies such as New York State Electric & Gas. 'Families in my district are being hit with $3,000 bills and unauthorized withdrawals of nearly $1,000 without warning,' Oberacker said in a news release. 'This isn't just bad billing — it's borderline criminal and we need answers.' Oberacker cited the case of a constituent in Unadilla who, he said, received a $3,000 bill and another constituent whose monthly NYSEG auto-pay of $150 suddenly jumped to a $980 withdrawal with no notice. Oberacker specifically questioned the link between the dramatic cost increases and the rollout of so-called 'smart meters' and pushed for reforms to increase transparency and accountability, the release stated. Among Oberacker's proposed solutions were: • A full investigation by the Senate Investigations Committee • Mandatory, fully itemized utility bills showing supply, delivery, taxes and surcharges clearly • Clear labeling of estimated bills and procedures for correction • A ban on utility companies passing along lobbying and public relations costs to ratepayers 'New Yorkers aren't asking for favors. They're asking for fairness, honesty, and some basic accountability,' Oberacker said. 'Utility companies shouldn't be able to raid people's bank accounts or bury charges behind vague line items. We need to bring this abuse to light.'
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NYSEG responds to Chemung County Legislator's call for investigation into company
CHEMUNG COUNTY, N.Y. (WETM) — A Chemung County Legislator has taken to social media to demand an investigation into New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG), but the company said his actions are only adding unnecessary confusion. On Saturday, March 29, Chemung County Legislator Rodney Strange used his Facebook page to call for a state-level investigation into NYSEG's operations. The company was quick to respond to Strange's remarks. Director of Corporate Communications for NYSEG, Shelby Cohen dismissed his claims and urged customers to seek accurate information directly from NYSEG rather than relying on social media posts. Chemung County Legislator calls for special investigation into NYSEG 'We feel it's unfortunate that some have decided to ignore the facts and the information that has been provided to them, and chosen to make a confusing situation worse, with seditious social media posts that only serve to misinform customers rather than getting them the assistance that they need,' Cohen said. Cohen explained that recent increases in customers' bills are due to colder temperatures, leading to higher energy usage, combined with rising supply costs — factors that are out of NYSEG's control. 'The fact is, the increase in bills over the past few months has been the result of colder temperatures that haven driven increased usage, combined with higher supply costs which are unregulated,' Cohen said. Cohen also pointed to social media platforms like Facebook and Nextdoor as sources of misinformation about the company's billing and services. DEC to review wildlife protection and enforcement process after seizure of Peanut the squirrel 'We're seeing a lot of misinformation being spread in these social media groups, on Facebook and Nextdoor primarily. We really encourage people to come to us with their questions on their bills,' explained Cohen. 'Very often we're able to either help them understand where they might be using more than they realize or talk to them about different rate plans, talk to them about different suppliers that might work for them. Very often these things are very easily resolvable and so we really encourage them to reach out to us or go to our website for information and our social media channels,' she said. Addressing another common concern, Cohen clarified that NYSEG's smart meters are not responsible for rising energy bills, as some customers have claimed. She explained that the primary difference between smart meters and the older meters is how energy usage is reported. 'Smart meters are not the cause of increased bills. Smart meters work just like legacy or traditional meters, they measure the energy that you use in your home,' said Cohen. 'They just read themselves and send us the read every hour rather than us coming out every other month to read your meter,' she said. 18 News reached out to Legislator Rodney Strange on Tuesday, April 1, for comment on his social media statements but did not receive a response. As the commotion over NYSEG's billing practices continue, the company urges customers to contact them directly for assistance rather than relying on other social media discussions. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Residents learn about smart meters at NYSEG event
The president and CEO of New York State Electric & Gas met with community members Wednesday at Lockport Town Hall to answer questions about smart meters. NYSEG is seeking the go-ahead from homeowners across Western New York to switch their homes to smart meters. Residents have taken to social media to express concerns about what conversion means for their electric bills. According to a NYSEG fact sheet, a smart meter is an electric meter or natural gas meter with two-way wireless communications with the utility's secure data center. It transmits energy use and meter status automatically. This meter eliminates the need for personnel to read electric meters, and makes detection of power outages automatic. Residents can use Energy Manager, an online tool, to more precisely observe their energy use and costs. NYSEG CEO Patricia Nilsen said the meters ensure that a customer gets a bill on an actual reading. 'With Energy Manager, they can monitor their energy by the hour. Customers can go back two days to see what was used. So if they plugged in an electric car, they can see the difference.' Nilsen said that if the power goes out, smart meters send an alert to the household address. This allows utility trucks to stop only where they are needed, rather than going door to door. Homeowners have expressed concerns that the utility can control a home's power use remotely through the smart meter, Nilsen said, and impose 'black outs.' She assures customers that this is not the purpose for smart meters. Some homeowners have claimed on social media that their utility costs increased after their smart meter was installed, Nilsen said. Most often, she said, this impression is due to customers receiving estimated utility reads before their smart meter was installed, and seeing a difference with the actual bill. According to an October commentary by Christine Alexander of NYSEG, the company, along with RG&E, sends out 2 million bills a month. She said less than half a percent leads to customer complaints. Alexander said the company encourages customers to call so a customer service representative can go line by line through their accounts and better understand what factors may actually be leading to billing variations. Town residents Reggie Rosati and Kathy Galus attended the information session and were able to have their questions answered. Rosati said she walked in unhappy, having received a bill for $1,500 last month. She said she was ready to opt out of the smart meter, but after learning more had changed her mind. NYSEG staff went through Rosati's utility charges and decided that her old meter needed to be replaced at no charge. 'It's definitely the way to go,' Rosati said. 'I'm going to give it a chance.' Galus described reading utility bills as 'reading Greek.' She said she felt better after speaking with NYSEG staff. To speak with a NYSEG customer service representative, call 800-572-1111 (NYSEG) or 800-743-2110 (RG&E).
