National Grid crews continue to work to restore power to customers affected by the foothills of Debby. Debby brought heavy rains and damaging winds with gusts over 55 mph to areas of upstate New York. Crews are clearing debris, including downed lines, trees, branches, broken poles and damaged transformers.

According to official figures, supplies have been restored to 86,100 of the 93,700 (92%) affected customers.

“Crews made steady progress today despite the hazardous conditions on site,” said Kyle Bentley, senior director of New York Electric Operations. “Your safety and the safety of our employees remains our top priority during all emergency response and recovery efforts. I want to personally thank our local governments, as well as the police, fire, public works and highway departments for their support. We appreciate the support of our local partners and the patience of our customers as we continue to repair all damage.”

The storms caused extensive damage to communities in central and eastern New York, including downed power lines, trees, limbs, broken poles, damaged transformers and other hazards. The hardest hit counties were Herkimer, Madison, St. Lawrence, Oneida and Oswego counties in central New York and Fulton, Hamilton, Saratoga, Schenectady, Columbia, Rensselaer, Essex, Warren and Washington counties in eastern New York.

“The safety of our employees and customers is our top priority,” Bentley said. “Our crews are facing hazardous conditions as they clear debris and gain access to repair damage and restore power. We will do everything in our power to complete the restoration as quickly and safely as possible.”

According to National Grid, power is expected to be restored to most customers by 11:30 p.m. Saturday. Outages may continue into Sunday in the hardest-to-reach areas. Customers can check the estimated time until power is restored here.