New York State Sen. Lea Webb announced $375,000 in funding for the WSKG public broadcasting station at a Tuesday press conference.

WSKG, a private nonprofit that provides educational and news programming to multiple counties in the Southern Tier, the Finger Lakes and northeast Pennsylvania, is one of the only public radio stations in many of the counties it broadcasts to and serves as an Emergency Direct Link hub in New York. During emergency situations, residents of the Southern Tier can tune into the station to hear urgent public safety announcements.

The funding, delivered by Webb on National Radio Day, will be used to purchase new generators for seven of the station’s transmission towers. Broadcasting radio towers can transmit electromagnetic waves over large areas, but they require electricity, which is not always available during extreme weather events or power outages. With these upgrades, time-sensitive information can be reliably transmitted to all residents, even those living in more rural areas.

Webb elaborated on the importance of dependable emergency services and emphasized her commitment to improve existing public infrastructure in the Southern Tier.

“With the increasing threat of extreme weather, it is imperative that WSKG, our designated Emergency Direct Link hub in upstate New York, has the resources needed to maintain power and continue transmitting potentially life-saving alerts,” Webb said in a press release. “These generators will help WSKG fulfill its vital role of keeping our communities informed and safe, no matter the circumstances. I am proud to deliver this funding to WSKG Public Media to fortify local infrastructure and ensure that our community has access to reliable and resilient public services.”

In an effort to keep the consequences of extreme weather at bay, Gov. Kathy Hochul created a “Resiliency Plan” in January of this year. The plan acknowledges the role climate change plays in these extreme weather events and outlines a list of improvements meant to protect New Yorkers during natural emergencies, including the distribution of generators and improvements to emergency infrastructure.

In July, the Southern Tier faced extreme weather conditions that brought down trees and cut power lines, resulting in power outages across the region. An estimated 18,000 New York State Electric and Gas customers in the Southern Tier alone were left without power.

Christopher DiRienzo, the director of donor relationships at WSKG, described the impact the donation will have on the station’s broadcasting infrastructure.

“This provides WSKG the ability to make sure that the 21 counties that we serve, with the inclement weather … that we are experiencing, continue to receive the services that we provide,” DiRienzo said at the press conference. “We have seen over the last month, countless power outages — they’re coming more often, they are longer periods of time — and placing these generators at every one of our high-powered transmitter sites in 21 counties helps ensure that ability to relay that information at the time of most need.”