HAMBURG, N.Y. (WKBW) — For the second time in two weeks, high winds whipped through Erie County. And that means Governor Andrew Cuomo's back-and-forth with Western New York utilities is continuing.
In Hamburg Sunday, the governor called for the New York State Department of Public Service to investigate three damaged substations in Hamburg. The damages there lead to nearly 30,000 outages.
"Given the number of outages, I have directed the Department of Public Service to investigate the utilities' preparations and response to the storms," Governor Cuomo said in a statement before his visit.
He did also say at a press conference in Hamburg that he thought the response to this storm was "so far, so good."
This marks the third time in 2019 that Gov. Cuomo has criticized National Grid and NYSEG over their efforts to restore power and communicate updates to customers.
National Grid's regional director said the utility was not surprised by the storm. He further said the company had crews at every one of its locations throughout Western New York ready to help with any power outages.
The governor also remarked that the storm was not as intense as the one two weeks ago, so 7 Eyewitness News asked him whether his trip was worth it.
"Well not as severe doesn't mean it's not a problem. It is on the problem spectrum," he said.
While many homes were out of power, that doesn't mean the people were. The Buffalo Women's march went on as planned despite high winds.
"The weather is a minor inconvenience compared to what women have had to put up with for centuries," Pat Weissman said.
