BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) Utility crews are trying to get the upper hand on power outages following a severe wind event this weekend.
The event Saturday night brought wind gusts in excess of 70 mph to the region. At the height of the storm National Grid had more than 70-thousand customers without power.
Much progress was made on Sunday, but with additional crews in Western New York, both National Grid and NYSEG expect to reach most customers sometime on Monday.
National Grid spokesman Dave Bertola says the last hook-ups often take a little longer. "Over 100 power poles were broken. They essentially snapped in the wind." Bertola said it can take seven or eight hours to replace a pole in addition to removing many trees.
90% of National Grid customers should have power restored by Monday night.
As of Monday morning, about 6-thousand outages remained in Orleans and Genesee counties. 13-hundred customers in Erie County and 22-hundred customers in Niagara County were waiting for power to be restored.
Bertola said National Grid brought additional crews in Friday night in advance of the storm and they worked day and night through the weekend.
NYSEG, New York State Electric and Gas, reported 95% of power has been restored in Western New York as of Monday morning. Crews are tasked with completing the final 12-hundred hookups today.
"The outages that are left are definitely the most challenging," said NYSEG spokeswomen Sarah Warren. They had 260 downed power lines, 56 broken poles along with downed trees and branches.
Warren said they are making a lot of progress each day but they expect to have all power restored by the end of the day on Tuesday.
