Unitil Corporation, (Unitil.com), a provider of natural gas and electricity to customers in New England, continues to restore power in all regions following today’s severe weather event.
As of 10 p.m., approximately 9,700 Unitil customers are without power, down from a 6:30 p.m. peak of approximately 18,000. Of those, approximately 9,500 customers are without power in New Hampshire and 180 are without power in Massachusetts. Crews will continue to work overnight to restore power where possible and to address public safety issues.
“Our engineering and operations team performed emergency switching to reroute power around damaged areas and lower the total customers without power in the Concord, New Hampshire region following the storm, but we believe there is still a lot of work to do in the field,” Unitil Media Relations Manager Alec O’Meara said. “At this time believe this will be a multi-day restoration, and while we will absolutely work around the clock to get customers back online, those without power should begin considering alternative plans for hosting Christmas.”
Work to fully assess damage from the afternoon thunderstorms is ongoing. Once there is a clear picture of the amount of damage in the field, we will provide an estimated restoration time for all customers. 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.
