Unitil, (www.unitil.com), a provider of natural gas and electricity to customers in New England, will close its system and regional emergency operation centers and return to normal operations at 6 PM today. With high winds forecasted for the remainder of the day, crews will be standing by to respond should there be scattered outages.
Unitil’s service territories in the Capital and Seacoast regions of NH and North Central MA saw no outages throughout the blizzard. We will continue to monitor the winds and respond to any outages as they occur. With treacherous road conditions, snow drifts and strong winds forecast to continue throughout the day, Unitil urges customers to take precautions and stay safe until conditions improve.
“We’d like to thank our customers, crews, first responders and employees for their preparation and vigilance, during this intense winter storm,” Rich Francazio, Unitil Director of Emergency Management said. “We were fortunate the wind speeds didn’t reach the 50 to 60 mph gusts that had originally been forecast.”
Heavy snow and icicles can have an impact on home meters, especially natural gas meters and vents. As snow accumulates, Unitil advises customers to take the following steps:
- Remove snow and ice carefully from a meter or outdoor appliance vent carefully with a broom. Do not use a shovel as it can damage the meter.
- Avoid shoveling or plowing snow up against or covering the meter or pipe.
- Remove icicles from overhead eaves and gutters to assure dripping water does not freeze the meter or vent pipe. Contact a qualified roofing vendor if you cannot reach icicles yourself.
- Do not kick your gas meter in an attempt to break ice off, as this too can cause damage.
Keeping vents and meters clear will allow for proper ventilation and can prevent carbon monoxide buildup within your home.
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-outage.
