New York State Electric & Gas says it has installed more than 600 automated reclosers across New York in 2026 as part of a broader effort to reduce the duration and reach of power outages.
Reclosers are remotely operated grid devices that can identify a damaged section of a distribution circuit, isolate it and reroute electricity to customers who can safely receive power. That can restore service in minutes while utility crews continue field repairs that may take much longer.
NYSEG and Rochester Gas and Electric say they now operate nearly 4,000 remote reclosers across more than 55,000 miles of distribution circuits. The companies use information from those devices in their Energy Control Center to respond to outages and direct repair work.
The utilities report that remote equipment has been used to restore service to more than 100,000 customers in under five minutes during outages this year. The companies say the automated network also provides operators with better information about where a problem occurred and which customers can be restored before field work is complete.
NYSEG says it selects installation locations by reviewing areas with recurring reliability challenges and places where automation can reduce the number of customers affected by an outage. The company serves about 894,000 electric customers and 266,000 natural-gas customers across much of upstate New York, including communities in the Southern Tier.
The latest deployment builds on earlier control-center and grid-modernization work. NYSEG says it will continue using outage history and system performance to identify circuits where additional automated devices may improve reliability.
