Unitil Corporation, (Unitil.com), a provider of natural gas and electricity to customers in New England, is conducting a comprehensive damage assessment following this week’s powerful nor’easter and is expected to know by later today when the majority of impacted customers should have their power restored.
As of 12:15 p.m., just under 7,100 customers remained without power. Of those remaining customers, 6,865 customers have no power in Massachusetts and about 225 are in New Hampshire. Since the start of the storm, approximately 33,000 customers have been impacted and power has been restored to more than 24,000.
Damage assessors have spent the morning canvassing areas impacted by this significant storm that resulted in up to 30 inches of heavy, wet snow in some locations within Unitil’s service territory in Massachusetts, which saw the greatest snowfall. The damage has been extensive in some areas with multiple wires down and poles that have been broken or sustained other damage.
“Damage assessment is key as we continue working to make repairs and bring our customers back online as quickly and as safely as we can with our crews and additional resources that we’ve brought in,” Unitil Media Relations Manager Alec O’Meara. “We understand the challenges of a multi-day restoration for our customers and we expect that once that damage assessment is completed today we’ll be able to provide a better picture of when most should have their power back.”
Earlier today, Unitil sent its new mobile command center to the Ashby, Mass., area to support the company’s restoration efforts throughout its Massachusetts service territory. Among other things, the mobile unit will assist with the management of field resources and operations, which involve the deployment of nearly 100 crews to that region.
With the significant accumulations of snow in many areas, customers are urged to keep natural gas meters, heating and appliance exhaust vents clear of snow and ice to prevent carbon monoxide buildup within their homes.
Customers are also reminded that in the event of downed wires, they should assume all cables and wires that have fallen or dangling are energized and stay away. Be sure to avoid wet ground or puddles near a downed line 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.
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR MEDIA:
Unitil asks that when reporting outage information, outlets time stamp the information. Outage numbers change hourly and we wish to make sure the information customers receive is consistent and understandable. Re-Tweets and re-posting of old information without referencing a time can create confusion.
Customers experiencing outages should call 1-888-301-7700 or report online at unitil.com/report-outage.
