NYSEG and RG&E Ready for Active Atlantic Hurricane Season
Companywide hurricane drill this spring enhances readiness
Companies will call in additional crews as needed to restore in wake of storms
BINGHAMTON, NY — July 12, 2024 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted a more active than normal hurricane season this summer. Hurricanes and tropical storms can bring high winds, torrential rain, and flooding to Upstate New York that can bring down trees and cause outages. New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG) and Rochester Gas and Electric (RG&E) are prepared for this prediction, with a robust Emergency Management team poised to respond to severe weather.
“We are actively preparing for a dynamic hurricane season this year and will use predictive AI to gauge potential impact of storms on our grid,” said Adam Helman, director of Emergency Operations for NYSEG and RG&E. “Our employees view storm response as a key responsibility, with a long history of exceptional response to emergencies and severe weather.”
The Companies have a comprehensive emergency response plan that is approved by the New York State Public Service Commission each year, and an emergency management program featuring thorough planning, training, exercises, and corrective action procedures. The team monitors the weather every day and plans accordingly. Every NYSEG and RG&E employee has a blue sky, or day job, as well as a storm role – these are often vastly different jobs, with storm roles being anything from damage assessors, to wire guards who monitor downed wires and make sure no one goes near them until crews arrive, to support staff who book hotel rooms and arrange meals for field personnel, and people who monitor social media channels to help customers who are concerned when their power is out. It’s part of what it means to be an employee at the Companies.
“Our customers see our crews in the field restoring service when the winds subside, but there are hundreds of employees supporting their work and our customers behind the scenes,” Helman said.
The Emergency Management team also holds practice drills to help employees rehearse their storm roles every year. This spring, more than 80 people gathered in Binghamton for a drill on a hurricane response scenario to ensure employees were prepared in their storm roles to respond to such an event.
Vegetation management, or tree trimming, is an important part of preparation for severe storms. RG&E has been on a regular cycle of tree trimming for some time, but NYSEG’s regular tree trimming cycle was just approved by the Public Service Commission last fall as part of its Reliable Energy New York plan. The Company is increasing trimming activity across its service territory, including work to trim and reclaim easements around NYSEG’s lines. Tree contacts cause more than fifty percent of all outages, and these efforts are expected to increase reliability for customers and reduce storm impacts. This work has just begun in much of NYSEG’s service areas and will continue throughout this year and into 2026. Even with a regular trim cycle, the Companies are often limited to trimming trees within 10 feet of power lines. As Upstate New York has many taller and old growth trees, severe storms can still cause trees to fall on the Companies’ lines. Dead or structurally unsound limbs that could present a hazard to lines are also removed as part of the NYSEG and RG&E’s work, even if they are outside the zone to be cleared, but the Companies cannot remove every tree that could impact a line.
In addition to tree trimming, the Companies are also in the midst of extensive investments and upgrades to their grid, funded in last year’s rate case. These investments include trip savers which use automation to minimize outage durations and the number of customers impacted, along with 45,000 new poles and betterments programs at both Companies focused on replacement of distribution system elements to improve reliability of the worst performing circuits across the service areas.
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Media Contact:
- Shelby Cohen
Shelby.cohen@avangrid.com
607.788.6785