Unitil Corporation, (Unitil.com), a provider of natural gas and electricity to customers in New England, is preparing for potential impacts from a long-duration nor’easter forecasted to begin tonight and last into Wednesday.
According to the most recent forecast, up to a foot of wet, heavy snow is possible in all service regions, with 40-45 mph wind gusts possible throughout the event. While snow totals may be lower in coastal areas due to a mix of rain, wind gusts may approach 50 mph in these areas. Wet, heavy snow can stick to surfaces and weigh down trees and branches, which in turn can lead to outages. Additionally, driving conditions and overall visibility are expected to remain difficult throughout the day Tuesday, creating the potential for outages caused by motor vehicle accidents.
Unitil secured additional third-party crews to bolster its resources in advance of this storm, and will be opening its system and regional emergency operation centers on Tuesday to coordinate restoration efforts, should outages occur. The storm’s track and intensity could have significant impacts on both snow totals and the overall duration of the storm.
“We are currently expecting a long-duration event, with hazardous conditions possible for a 36-hour period as this storm passes to our east,” Unitil Media Relations Manager Alec O’Meara said. “Crews will be restoring power where possible and when conditions allow, and we will be working with first responders to address public safety issues as they arise throughout the event.”
We recommend our customers prepare similarly by checking and making an inventory of the following items:
- Flashlights and fresh batteries
- Portable chargers and supplemental batteries for mobile devices
- Bottled water, canned foods, and a manual can opener
- A first aid kit.
Heavy wet snow has the potential to damage trees and to take wires to the ground. We urge people to always assume all fallen or dangling cables and wires are energized and stay away. Be sure to avoid wet ground or puddles near a downed line, as 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.
