HTN: Power Out in Southtowns

NYSEG says 6,700 people were without power in Hamburg and Orchard Park this morning. According to Hamburg Police, traffic signals were also malfunctioning from Route 20 and Rogers Road to Park Lane. NYSEG says it is working to restore power and determine the cause of the outage.

Hometown News: Wind Power in WNY

The New York Power Authority has announced a plan to develop a one-billion-dollar offshore wind project on either Lake Erie or Lake Ontario. Power Authority Chief Richard Kessel agrees that the Authority needs to generate more low-cost power to attract more businesses to New York State.

HTN: paterson Protest NYSEG Hikes

An attempt by New York State Electric and Gas Corporation to hike rates by nearly ten-percent is not sitting well with Governor David Paterson. The Gov says he is disappointed by the request because the company agreed not to raise rates until October. The governor is calling on NYSEG to honor its commitment to New Yorkers. The company wants to boost electric rates by nearly ten-percent and natural gas rates by nearly nine-percent.

Hometown News: Power Outages

24 hours of rapidly changing weather has led to tens of thousands of power outages and school closings this morning. Here are the latest power numbers: National Grid estimates 15,000 without power in Erie County, 3,800 in Chautauqua County, 3,800 in Cattaraugus County, 493 in Allegany County, and 2,800 in Genesee County. NYSEG reports around 28,000 customers without power scattered throughout Western New York. A large concentration appears to be in the Losson Road section of Cheektowaga.