Restoration and damage assessment efforts will continue through the overnight hours with a major push to restore customers planned for Monday morning. The company is analyzing data from its damage assessment and expects to have a global estimated restoration time for both New Hampshire and Massachusetts Monday morning.
As of 10:00PM an estimated 36,144 of Unitil’s 103,000 electric customers system wide are reporting no power, down from an overnight peak of 70,000. Of those customers, 15,337 of Unitil’s 28,000 customers in Massachusetts are without power and 20,807 of Unitil’s 75,000 customers in New Hampshire are without power. Approximately 20,609 customers are still out in the seacoast area, while only 198 Unitil customers remain out in the Concord, New Hampshire region.
“The early reports from damages assessors is that there are a high volume of individual service outages throughout all service territories,” Unitil Media Relations Manager Alec O’Meara said. “Damage assessment is still ongoing, but with fresh crews coming on the system from Michigan Monday, a major restoration push is planned during the early a.m. hours and throughout the day.”
Approximately 300 crews, some from as far away as Michigan, Pennsylvania and Canada have been secured to assist with what is expected to be a multi-day restoration effort for the areas hit hardest by the storm, such as north central Massachusetts and the New Hampshire seacoast area. The crews provide specialized work and include line, tree, digger, damage assessment and wires down teams. Crews worked overnight on public safety issues in coordination with municipal emergency responders, while restoring power where possible.
Restoration is expected to last multiple days throughout New England and impacted customers are advised to make alternative plans to make sure they remain warm and safe for the duration of this event.
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
Downed wires continue to remain a chief hazard due to the unique conditions caused by this storm. Avoid wet ground or puddles near a downed lined because water conducts electricity, as do objects made of metal. In addition, keep away from all flooded and debris laden areas because they may be hiding downed lines.
