Unitil Corporation, (unitil.com), a provider of natural gas and electricity to customers in New England, is preparing for gusty winds to impact the area beginning late tonight and into tomorrow as part of a passing cold front.
"We will be prepared to further escalate our response efforts should conditions warrant doing so."
Alec O'Meara, Media Relations Manager
According to the most recent forecast, wind gusts of 45-50 miles per hour are possible during the overnight hours. 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.
"While the current forecast is not as severe as the winds which occurred in the region a week ago, the potential for outages still exists should the higher gusts forecasted end up manifesting. Crews will be standing by throughout the overnight hours, and we will be prepared to further escalate our response efforts should conditions warrant doing so," said Media Relations Manager Alec O'Meara.
In light of the ongoing concerns regarding COVID-19, Unitil proactively secured additional third party crews to bolster resources. Crews will be standing by in all regions, and Unitil will continue to monitor the forecast and is prepared to escalate its response further if conditions warrant doing so.
We recommend our customers remain similarly prepared by checking and making an inventory of the following items:
- Flashlights and fresh batteries
- A battery-operated radio and clock
- Bottled water, canned foods and a manual can opener
- A list of important phone numbers and a car charger for cell phones if applicable
- A first aid kit.
The windy conditions have the potential to take wires to the ground. 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 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 a power outage online here.
