Unitil estimated restoration plan to have the majority of its customers will back on by the end of the day today remains on track. Some individual service issues, as well as isolated pockets of customer outages may last into Wednesday. Crews will continue to blanket the affected areas until power is restored to all customers.
As of 1 p.m. an estimated 4,958 of Unitil’s 103,000 electric customers system wide are reporting no power, down from a peak of approximately 70,000, which occurred overnight Saturday and into Sunday. Of those customers, 3,142 of Unitil’s 28,000 customers in Massachusetts are without power, down from a peak of roughly 24,000 customers and 1,815 of Unitil’s 75,000 customers in New Hampshire are without power, down from a peak of approximately 46,000.
“As part of customer restoration, we look first for repairs which will bring on the largest amount of customers at a time, then work down to repairing smaller and smaller pockets,” Unitil Media Relations Manager Alec O’Meara said. “At this stage, crews are moving quickly and efficiently from pocket to pocket to make the needed repairs.”
Approximately 300 crews, some from as far away as Michigan, Pennsylvania and Canada are working on the system in shifts around the clock to restore power. The crews, which range from traditional bucket trucks to civilian vehicles to a helicopter which flew the system to check off-road corridors, provide specialized work. They include line, tree, pole-setting, damage assessment and wires down teams.
Again, we urge customers still experiencing outages to call the following toll-free numbers:
- For the NH Seacoast Area: 1-800-582-7276
- For the NH Capital Area: 1-800-852-3339
- For Massachusetts: 1-888-301-7700
An improperly installed or positioned generator can cause exhaust, containing deadly carbon monoxide, to accumulate in your dwelling. Gas appliances that are not getting a sufficient supply of air can release carbon monoxide, a dangerous gas. Watch for things like yellow flames, flickering flames or soot that might indicate an appliance with a problem. Installing a carbon monoxide detector can help detect this odorless and colorless gas before it becomes a dangerous concern.
