Unitil made significant progress throughout the day on its restoration efforts in the wake of a damaging snowstorm impacting the area Wednesday afternoon and evening. The majority of customers should have power restored by morning, with isolated pockets and individual services issues continuing through Saturday.
As of approximately 7 p.m. an estimated 3,500 of Unitil’s customers in the greater Concord, NH area were still without power, down from a peak of 31,000 total customers at the height of the storm on Wednesday.
“Crews will be working round-the-clock overnight to restore power to the remaining customers,” Unitil Media Relations Manager Alec O’Meara said. “Temperatures will be dropping into the single digits this evening, so we urge customers who are still without power to find a shelter or warming center, or if they are using a generator to make sure they do so safely.”
If you are using a generator, please note that an improperly installed or positioned generator can cause exhaust, containing deadly carbon monoxide, to accumulate in your dwelling. Gas appliances that are not getting a sufficient supply of air can release carbon monoxide, a dangerous gas. Watch for things like yellow flames, flickering flames or soot that might indicate an appliance with a problem. Installing a carbon monoxide detector can help detect this odorless and colorless gas before it becomes a dangerous concern.
Unitil will be communicating throughout the storm and restoration through Public Service Announcements (PSAs), our customer call center and through the media. We also encourage customers to follow along with our storm updates via our Twitter feed (@Unitil), on Facebook and 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. 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.
