WARSAW — Pop-up thunderstorms and high winds are blamed for outages which left thousands of people without electricity Wednesday night.
The statewide outages included about 9,000 people in the GLOW region, according to New York State Electric & Gas. Most people affected spent several hours in the dark before electricity was restored.
A total of 7,674 customers were without electricity as of 9 p.m. Wednesday in Wyoming County. Affected areas included Castile, Gainesville, Genesee Falls, Middlebery, Perry and Warsaw.
An additional 804 customers were without electricity in Leicester.
National Grid reported 95 customers affected in Bethany; 75 customers in Carlton; 137 customers in Rideway; and 334 customers in Yates.
No outages were reported in Genesee, Livingston, Orleans or Wyoming counties as of 1 p.m. Thursday.
In the meantime, the New York Independent System Operator issued an energy watch Thursday afternoon and is suggesting state residents conserve power voluntarily.
With extreme heat affecting New York and temperatures expected to remain high through the week, consumer demand on the electric system is rising as homes and businesses rely more heavily on air conditioning, NYISO officials said in a news release.
The high temperatures, elevated humidity, and sustained air conditioning loads have placed high demand on generation and transmission resources.
As of Wednesday, the forecasted baseline peak demand during the heatwave was:
- Friday — 30,680 MW
- Saturday — 28,250 MW
NYISO recommends raising air-conditioning thermostats if it’s safe to do so, along with postponing unnecessary use of major appliances until demand on the electric system eases.
An extreme heat warning remains in effect through 8 p.m. Friday in Orleans and Livingston counties, with temperatures in the mid-90s forecast.
A heat advisory is in effect until 8 p.m. Friday for Genesee and Wyoming counties with temperatures in the low 90s.
