Unitil Corporation, (unitil.com), a provider of natural gas and electricity to customers in New England, is responding to outages following heavy winds from the passing of Tropical Storm Isaias through the region.
"Crews are actively restoring power where possible while working with first responders, and fresh crews will be ready to go this morning."
Alec O'Meara, Media Relations Manager
As of 8:45 p.m., approximately 4,000 Unitil customers are without power, down from an early evening peak of 7,700. Of those approximately 3,400 out in New Hampshire and 600 in Massachusetts. Outages were reported on the system shortly after a band of thunder storms associated with Isaias passed though the region in the late afternoon, early evening hours.
“We are seeing a fluid situation in all regions currently, as outages are being reported with potentially several hours of hazardous winds still to come. Crews are actively restoring power where possible while working with first responders, and fresh crews will be ready to go this morning to restore power as well to ensure we continue to work around the clock to restore," said Alec O'Meara, Media Relations Manager for Unitil.
Additional gusts of 40-50 mph are still forecasted through the region during the overnight hours. While crews continue to work, additional outages are possible as the storm’s remnants pass through. Also, wind gusts may continue to hamper restoration efforts, as bucket trucks are unable to extend arms in windy conditions.
Downed wires are being reported in all regions. If you see downed wires, assume all cables and wires that have fallen or dangling are energized, stay away and immediately call Unitil Customer Service at 1-888-301-7700 or 911. Be sure to avoid wet ground or puddles near a downed lined because water conducts electricity. In addition, keep away from all flooded and debris laden areas because they may be hiding downed lines. Stay in a safe place and avoid driving in damaged areas so you don’t interfere with rescue and restoration efforts.
Unitil will be communicating throughout the event through Public Service Announcements (PSAs), our website, our customer call center and through the media. We also encourage customers to follow along with our storm updates via Facebook, our Twitter feed (@Unitil) and we will be providing real-time outage information online at unitil.com/map.
You can also report outages online here.
