Unitil Corporation, (unitil.com), a provider of natural gas and electricity to customers in New England, a provider of natural gas and electricity to customers in New England, is preparing for a winter storm forecasted to impact the area Monday and Tuesday.
"We will be closely monitoring the forecast and storm conditions as they unfold, and we will be prepared should temperatures trend warmer."
Alec O'Meara, Media Relations Manager
According to the most recent forecast, snow is expected to initially develop Monday afternoon and may persist into Tuesday evening. Altogether, approximately a foot of snow is possible in all Unitil service areas, and wind gusts approaching 45 mph are likely during the overnight hours. The snow is expected to have a wetter, heavier consistency in coastal and southern areas during the peak hours of the storm. Wet, heavy snow can stick to trees and limbs, causing otherwise healthy trees to fall onto electric infrastructure, causing outages.
"The consistency of the snow as it falls will be a key factor in how much this particular storm ultimately impacts our system. We will be closely monitoring the forecast and storm conditions as they unfold, and we will be prepared should temperatures trend warmer and further escalation of our response efforts is warranted," said Alec O'Meara, Media Relations Manager.
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 snowy 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 outages online here.
