New York state put utility operators on notice before the arrival of the winter storm that swept across the state last night and today.
Larry Schwartz, secretary to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, sent a letter to utility leaders yesterday morning. The letter, which went to utility heads including National Grid New York COO Ken Daly and National Grid U.S. President Thomas King, warned that the state will hold utilities accountable for their performance during the storm.
“I want to make sure you are taking every action necessary to reduce the likelihood of power outages that could result from this storm, and to be prepared for any outages that do occur with a sound communications and restoration plan,” the letter said.
Public Service Commission Chairman Garry Brown also contacted utility CEOs regarding their preparations for the storm.
Power outages reported to National Grid in the Syracuse and Utica areas as of 11 a.m. were largely north of the Thruway in the Adirondack region. Binghamton had avoided outages at that point, according to reports posted by NYSEG — the closest outage was in Otsego County and affected five customers.
Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com