Unitil Corporation, (Unitil.com), a provider of natural gas and electricity to customers in New England, is preparing for potential impacts from high winds and heavy rain throughout the day tomorrow.
According to the most recent forecast, as much as 1-2 inches of rain are possible as a cold front passes through the region. Additionally, wind gusts of 55 miles per hour are possible as the front passes through, with higher gusts possible in coastal areas. Such winds have the potential to cause outages on the system, as otherwise healthy trees and branches may be brought down on lines, causing damage. Additionally, flash flooding may occur in some interior areas, causing damage and impacting regional travel.
Due to the potentially serious nature of the storm, Unitil has a complement of internal and third party crews prepared to respond, and currently plans to open its System Emergency Operations Center Friday morning in order to coordinate its response efforts, should outages occur.
“We are highly aware that we are days away from Christmastime and that many are making plans to spend time with their families this weekend,” Unitil Media Relations Manager Alec O’Meara said. “We have been watching this storm forecast unfold throughout the week, and we urge all of our customers to take into account the potential for this wind event to cause disruptions, and to plan accordingly.”
We recommend our customers prepare by checking and making an inventory of the following items:
- Flashlights and fresh batteries
- Portable chargers and supplemental batteries for mobile devices
- Bottled water, canned foods and a manual can opener
- A first aid kit
Windy conditions have the potential 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.
You can also report outages online at unitil.com/outage.
