While crews are continuing to work to restore power to customers, Unitil remains on alert though the evening hours for the potential of new outages caused by a second round of winds following the eye of Tropical Storm Irene.
“The remnants of Irene are forecasted to linger throughout this evening. The storm impacted over 27,000 customers at peak and our restoration is going well. We are in the process of finalizing our damage assessment and will provide a system restoration time later this evening,” Unitil Emergency Management Director Rich Francazio said.
As of 4 p.m. approximately 22,000 of Unitil’s 103,000 electric customers system wide are reporting outages, down from a reported peak of 25,700. Of those customers, 2,500 of Unitil’s 28,000 customers in Massachusetts are without power and 21,000 of Unitil’s 75,000 customers in New Hampshire are without power.
Unitil will continue to work quickly and has approximately 300 additional crews responding to storm damage. In the meantime, we ask for our customers’ patience and understanding should there be a disruption in power, and we will provide regular updates to local media outlets and through our twitter feed regarding progress.
Customers experiencing outages should call the following toll-free numbers:
- For the NH Seacoast Area: 800-582-7276
- For the NH Capital Area: 800-852-3339
- For Massachusetts: 888-301-7700
In the event of downed wires, 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 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.
