Unitil Corporation, (www.unitil.com), a provider of natural gas and electricity to customers in New England, is continuing its damage assessment in the wake of a major nor’easter which impacted the area overnight. Crews have made progress during the day; as of 4:30 p.m., approximately 13,600 customers are without power, down from a peak of 24,842. All outages are currently from the New Hampshire Seacoast region. Damage assessors continue work in the field and restoration is taking place where possible. Initial reports from the field are indicating numerous locations with broken equipment caused by limbs and branches weighed down by wet, heavy snow.
"Currently, we are expecting this to be a multi-day restoration due to the volume of reported issues on the system. Damage assessment is ongoing; once that process is complete, we will have a clear picture of the total work still to be done and will be able to provide an estimate regarding total restoration."
Alec O’Meara, Unitil Media Relations Manager
Unitil secured additional resources in preparation for this storm and crews have been working tirelessly to restore power where feasible. Altogether, more than 150 crew resources, including bucket crews, tree crews, wires down personnel and damage assessors are coordinating as part of Unitil’s restoration. Crews from as far away as Canada have been secured and are joining the restoration effort, as has mutual aid assistance from the region.
When utilizing generators, it is important to ensure that they are located outside and have appropriate venting. As a reminder, generators exhaust carbon monoxide, a deadly, silent odorless gas. If you suspect carbon monoxide poisoning, leave the area to get fresh air.
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 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
You can also report outages online at http://www.unitil.com/report-
