Unitil Corporation, (www.unitil.com), a provider of natural gas and electricity to customers in New England, continues to focus on public safety issues involving downed wires, broken poles, and circuit issues following the snowstorm overnight on Wednesday. As of 1:00PM, 18,908 customers are without power, down from a peak of 24,842. 18,868 are in the New Hampshire Seacoast region, with 1 in the Capital region and 39 in the Fitchburg, MA region. Keep in mind, as snow continues to fall, and trees become heavy, it is common for branches to fall, which can cause additional outages. Damage assessors are in the field and restoration is taking place where possible.
"In order to restore power quickly, our crews and resources need to allocate time to assess the extent of the damage. Once damage assessment is complete, we will have a clear understanding of how long it will take to restore power."
Alec O’Meara, Unitil Media Relations Manager
Unitil secured additional resources in preparation for this storm and crews have been working tirelessly to restore power where feasible. Additional crews from as far away as Canada have been secured and are joining the restoration effort.
In the event of downed wires, assume all cables and wires that have fallen or dangling are energized and stay away. Be sure to avoid wet ground or puddles near a downed lined because 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 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 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 unitil.com/report-outage.
