Unitil Corporation, (Unitil.com), is continuing to respond to outages in all service regions as snow continues to fall. As of 5:30 p.m. approximately 5,200 Unitil customers are without power, with approximately 3,600 of impacted customers residing in Massachusetts and the remainder in New Hampshire.
The total number of customers without power has remained relatively stable throughout the day today, but crews have been responding to new outages in all regions as they have occurred, many caused by either motor vehicle accidents or downed trees on lines. Since this morning, approximately 11,000 customers have had power restored while the storm has been impacting the region.
“Thanks to staying on top of troubles as they occurred, our crews have managed to keep the total number of customers impacted at any one time relatively low, but we recognize this weather event is far from over, and there is still work to do,” Unitil Media Relations Manager said. “We also recognize that new outages may continue to occur tonight, and we have fresh, rested crews that will work overnight and into tomorrow during this multi-day, multiple storm-system event.”
Due to the compounding nature of this evening’s forecasted snow plus additional wet, heavy snow forecasted later in the week, Unitil has secured additional crews from Canada to assist with restoration efforts as the week progresses and snow continues to fall.
Heavy wet snow has the potential to damage trees and to take wires to the ground. We urge all to always assume all cables and wires have fallen or dangling are energized and stay away. Be sure to avoid wet ground or puddles near a downed lined, 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.
