NYSEG Announces Completion of Largest Storm Resiliency Project

575 New Poles, 15 Miles of Distribution Lines Benefiting 2,000 Customers in the Towns of Highland, Barryville, Eldred, Yulan, Tusten, and Minisink Ford


Updates will Strengthen Reliability for Customers During Severe Storms


LIBERTY, NY — July 20, 2023 — New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG) has completed significant infrastructure upgrades that will enhance the grid in its Liberty division, which includes the towns of Highland, Barryville, Eldred, Yulan, Tusten, and Minisink Ford. These upgrades will result in increased reliability and resiliency for 2,000 customers.


This is the Company’s largest resiliency project to date: 575 new poles were installed, with nearly 15 miles of upgrades to distribution lines, and 13 miles of enhanced vegetation management, trimming from ground to sky and removing overhanging limbs which could fall on lines.


“Residents and businesses depend on reliable utilities, especially when server weather hits,” said Senator Peter Oberacker, SD-51. “The work performed by NYSEG to shore up their infrastructure is a positive step that will give those who live and work in the region peace of mind.”


“I’m happy to see this much-needed investment in our energy infrastructure,” said Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther, AD – 100. “The reliability of the electrical grid is of the utmost importance, especially in a rural area like ours. I will continue to work with NYSEG to make sure we have the resources necessary to continually make these types of improvements.” 


“The Town of Tusten is happy with the results of NYSEG’s work,” said Town of Tusten Supervisor Ben Johnson. “It has reduced the number and length of outages when they do happen. We look forward to the continuation of the work.“


Part of the upgrades include the installation of an automated system with supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), a means of providing data and communication with the Company’s Energy Control Center (ECC) in Binghamton. SCADAs sense where an outage has occurred in the grid, restore customers in zones automatically, and reduce outage times for customers. It detects interruptions in a line and shuts off power immediately and can be operated and monitored remotely. This helps to reduce the number of customers impacted by an outage and can make the process safer by remotely de-energizing lines during storms.
“These upgrades create a more intelligent and automated grid, including distribution lines that can withstand greater snow, ice, and wind events, and smart devices to detect faults across the infrastructure,” said Andrew Gumkowski, manager of Distribution Projects for NYSEG.


The newly constructed lines are also built to a more modern standard, replacing aging infrastructure. The two-and-a-half-year project cost $10.5 million. Major construction on the project was completed in February. 

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