Unitil Corporation, (Unitil.com), a provider of natural gas and electricity to customers in New England, made progress overnight and is working to restore power to remaining customers impacted by Friday’s severe wind event.
As of 7 a.m., approximately 5,350 Unitil customers are without power, down from a peak of about 22,000 early Friday evening. Of those who still have no power, just over 3,700 customers are in New Hampshire’s Capital region and nearly 1,600 are in the Seacoast region. Approximately 40 customers are without power in Massachusetts.
Crews will continue working around the clock to restore customers as quickly as possible as the Christmas holiday approaches.
“This storm could not have come at a worse time and we recognize that many of our customers are wondering if they will have the lights back on in time for their family gatherings. We appreciate their patience during this difficult time,” Unitil Media Relations Manager Alec O’Meara said. “Our crews worked hand in hand with emergency responders through windy conditions and plunging temperatures overnight, addressing public safety issues while restoring power where possible.”
The strong winds that caused the most significant outages were associated with an Arctic front that moved through the region early Friday evening. The winds brought down wires and resulted in numerous broken poles and severe tree damage.
Given the extensive repair work that remains, crews are continuing to assess damage and will provide an estimated restoration time for all customers when possible. As power is restored to impacted areas, crews will be redeployed throughout Unitil’s service territories to bring the remaining customers back online. All system and New Hampshire regional emergency operation centers remain open in order to best coordinate response efforts.
It is likely that some customers will not have power restored by Christmas day and should consider alternative plans if they plan to host holiday events. Customers who are still without power and may need shelter should contact their local town or city for sheltering and warming center information.
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 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.
You can also report outages online at unitil.com/report-outage.
