Hits: 416
WPCNR THE POWER STORY. From Chris Burdick, Bedford Town Supervisor.Friday Evening. December 26, 2020 UPDATED 1:30 PMEST:
Power Outage – December 26 Afternoon Update I have been in very frequent contact both with NYSEG and Con Edison. NYSEG now reports 319 customers currently without power in its service area in Bedford (down from 1333. For those who check the NYSEG outage list except for individual ones of “still assessing” (which at this point means special issues/problems), the estimate time of restoration is tonight at 11:00 PM. I have been pressing NYSEG hard to do its best to get power restored sooner, and they are trying to do so. Con Edison now reports 13 customers without power in its Bedford service area (down from 138). Status of Crews I just got off the phone with NYSEG which continues to have several crews in Bedford – four crews working on the Bedford Hills Circuit (accounting for about 55 customers) and six crews working on the Cantitoe Circuit (about 250 customers). As earlier noted, NYSEG crews did work through the night. Downed Trees and Wires Please report any downed trees or utility lines to Bedford Police Desk at 241-3111. NYSEG customers should immediately call 1-800-572-1131 to report downed power lines or other hazardous conditions Con Edison customers should immediately call 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633) immediately. Please be safe staying away from downed lines. This storm did a great deal of damage with downed trees, power lines and blocked roads throughout town both in NYSEG and Con Edison service areas. The priority has been on restoring service to life support and special needs residents and on unblocking roads – particularly 172 leading to the hospital and roads for which ingress/egress was completely blocked. These priorities, as I understand, have been met. NYSEG and Con Edison has done a decent job in providing crews to handle the significant remaining damage and restoration task. Outages NYSEG now reports 859 customers without power in its service area in Bedford (down from 1333 as of 12 noon) with nearly all roads’ estimated time of restoration still shown as “assessing” on the NYSEG outage list on the website. I reported to my NYSEG representative that Davids Hill Road was incorrectly delisted from the outage list. It’s an anomaly, he tells me, because the rest of the circuit has been restored. The outage list has been updated to show estimated restoration times of 11:00 PM tonight for some streets and 11:00 PM tomorrow for other streets. Con Edison now reports 93 customers without power in its Bedford service area (down from 138). Con Edison has taken cleared all road closures. The 95% estimated time of restoration is 11:00 AM Saturday morning. Status of Crews NYSEG continues to have 12 crews in Bedford. NYSEG crews were working Friday night. Our Public Works Commissioner has confirmed that the crews have been diligent in handling the safety issues described above. Con Edison has also been clearing roads and will have their crews working through tonight. Dry Ice/Bottled Water – Now Available NYSEG has made dry ice and bottled water available. My thanks to Frank Zipp of our Building Department for going up to Putnam County to pick up 100 packages. They now are available at the usual distribution point in front of the Town Offices at 425 Cherry Street. I haven’t been over there, so do not know whether any supplies remain. Downed Trees and Wires Nearly all of the roads that were blocked have been cleared. Please report any downed trees or utility lines to Bedford Police Desk at 241-3111. NYSEG customers should immediately call 1-800-572-1131 to report downed power lines or other hazardous conditions Con Edison customers should immediately call 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633) immediately. Please be safe staying away from downed lines. Cell Service and InternetI have not heard back yet from Altice as to the status of providing crews. The protocol, however, is that the power lines first need to be restored on utility poles and then the telecommunication lines. I have been in touch with Altice government representative pressing for crews. Deputy Supervisor MaryAnn Carr Working With Me As I mentioned this morning, please also note that my Deputy Supervisor MaryAnn Carr is working closely with me throughout this power outage. As you may know, under NYS law the Deputy Supervisor has all the authority and responsibilities of the Supervisor in the absence of the Supervisor. I leave office at midnight on December 31 (to assume my new role as Assembly Member) at which time MaryAnn will assume such authority and responsibilities. |