ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Residents on Amherst Street lost power for more than two days after they say high winds knocked a tree onto power lines Wednesday afternoon, leaving neighbors frustrated with what they called a ‘slow utility response’.
John Deryck was inside his home around 8 p.m. Wednesday when he noticed leaves swirling in a circular motion in his backyard. Within 10 seconds, a tree came down on his house.
“It wasn’t like it was hit by a bolt of lightning because you’d see shards of wood. It was wind gust blew it down quick,” Deryck said.
The fallen tree knocked out power to homes on Amherst Street and the other side of South Goodman Street. He said the power immediately went out.
Deryck said he called RG&E multiple times but felt the utility’s response was inadequate.
“When I called them to ask them what they were going to do, they did not give me an answer that I thought was adequate,” Deryck said.
He then contacted the New York State Public Service Commission. Eight minutes after that call, a tree removal crew arrived at the scene with 15 workers.
Deryck and his neighbors have been without power since Wednesday afternoon. He said they received three separate notifications from RG&E promising restoration — at 10 p.m. Wednesday, 3:15 a.m. Thursday and 11 a.m. Friday. It was restored at 11:08 a.m. according to the utility company.
“People had their refrigerators filled with food. What do you think they’re going to do with the food? Throw it away,” Deryck said.
The outage came during a heat wave, with temperatures reaching the high 90s. Inside homes without air circulation, Deryck estimated temperatures climbed to 110 or 115 degrees.
“I have a cat, and you could tell the cat’s hot because she’s panting,” Deryck said.
Neighbor Ross Lazara said he’s been without power since Wednesday as well. He estimated he’ll have to throw out about $200 worth of groceries.
“Little by little, they’re thawing out. Probably going to have to throw some out,” Lazara said.
Lazara said he took his dog to another location overnight because of concerns about the heat. He rated RG&E’s response “a half a star out of five.”
“I know it’s hard, though. They had thousands of outings between Rochester and central New York. It’s a logistics nightmare, but they planned for this stuff,” Lazara said.
RG&E said more than 20,000 customers lost power starting at 7 p.m. on July 1 due to high winds and pop-up thunderstorms. The utility restored more than 98% of affected customers within 24 hours.
The utility said customers on Amherst Street lost power just before 8 p.m. Wednesday and were restored Friday at 11:09 a.m., according to RG&E. The outage affected 80 customers and involved a broken rear lot pole on South Goodman Street.
All customers impacted by the July 1 storms have now been restored, RG&E said. The utility directed customers to information about extended outage relief eligibility on its website, though per the NYS guidelines no customers would qualify because the outage didn’t last over 72 hours.
Per the policy, which can be found here:
Residential customers with a 96-hour or longer outage automatically receive a $25 Extended Outage Credit for each 24-hour period beyond the initial 72 hours, with no claim required, according to the utility’s policy.
Residential and small business customers who lose power for 72 consecutive hours may be eligible for reimbursement for spoiled food and, for residents, spoiled prescription medication, but claims must be submitted on a form.
Eligibility and reimbursement limits vary by customer type and documentation: residential food claims can be up to $235 with an itemized list or up to $540 with proof of loss, while small businesses can seek up to $540 for spoiled food.
Deryck said he and his neighbors worked together to cut up and remove the fallen tree themselves. He criticized RG&E’s communication with contracted utilities and said he planned to contact the Public Service Commission again.
“Our genie was once owned locally, and they did a fantastic job. Once the Spanish company bought over, it seems like all they want is money, money, money,” Deryck said.
Rochester residents on Amherst Street criticize RG&E response after 39 hours without power during heat wave WHEC.com.
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