Unitil Corporation, (Unitil.com), a provider of natural gas and electricity to customers in New England, is currently estimating the majority of customers without power in the Concord area to be restored by end day today, with some isolated pockets and single service restorations to last into Friday.
In the seacoast area, where damage is more severe, a majority of customers are expected to be restored by end of day Friday, with some isolated pockets and single service areas to possibly last into Saturday. All Unitil Massachusetts customers who lost power overnight were restored by this morning.
"Part of the challenge of providing restoration estimates for this event is the complexity of the work we’re currently seeing in the field and the ongoing gusty winds in the region, which are continuing to cause new outages. Crews will continue to work until all customers are restored, and we will continue to provide the most current information available as we work through this wind event."
Alec O’Meara, Unitil Media Relations Manager
As of 4:30 p.m., approximately 4,500 customers are without power, down from a peak of approximately 15,300. Of those, approximately 4,200 of those without power are in the NH Seacoast region, where damage was more severe. Gusts in excess of 50 mph were reported during the overnight hours.
If using a generator at your home, please note that an improperly installed or positioned generator can cause exhaust, containing deadly carbon monoxide, to accumulate in your dwelling. Installing a carbon monoxide detector can help detect this odorless and colorless gas before it becomes a dangerous concern. In addition, such generators can “backfeed” electricity into the distribution lines and electrical equipment, seriously injuring or electrocuting a line worker or anyone who may touch a now-energized line thought to be dead. More important safety messages on generator usage can be found online at Unitil.com.
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 www.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.
