Unitil Corporation, (Unitil.com), a provider of electricity and gas to customers in New England, is prepared to respond to outages in all service regions as potentially severe thunderstorms pass through this afternoon and tonight.
According to the most recent forecast, wind gusts of 40-65 miles per hour or more are possible within the most powerful storm cells today, with isolated chances of tornado activity possible as well. High winds have the potential to take down otherwise healthy tree limbs and branches into poles and wires, causing outages.
Unitil secured additional crews in advance of the storm and will have teams ready to respond in all regions during the expected peak activity.
“Thunderstorm activity in the late spring and early summer is fast moving and has the potential to deliver extremely hazardous conditions with little to no advance warning,” Unitil External Affairs Director Alec O’Meara said. “We recognize conditions are ripe for such activity today, and we are prepared to react should any area see the worst of what is forecasted.”
We recommend our customers prepare similarly 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
- Electric vehicles are fully charged in advance of the storm
- A first aid kit.
High wind gusts have the potential to damage trees and tree branches, which can in turn bring poles and wires to the ground. We urge people to always assume all fallen or dangling cables and wires are energized and stay away. Be sure to avoid wet ground or puddles near a downed line, 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 or report online at unitil.com/report-outage.
