Unitil Corporation, (unitil.com), a provider of natural gas and electricity to customers in New England, is preparing for a winter storm forecasted to impact the area.
"Activating our Emergency Operations Center helps to best coordinate our efforts system-wide during a major event of this nature."
Alec O'Meara, Media Relations Manager
According to the most recent forecast, snow is expected to initially develop later today and may persist into tomorrow 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 areas during the peak hours of the storm, while areas to the south may see higher total volumes. Wet, heavy snow can stick to trees and limbs, causing otherwise healthy trees to fall onto electric infrastructure, causing outages.
In order to best coordinate its response efforts as the storm unfolds, Unitil plans to open its system Emergency Operations Center due to the potential for wet snow and gusty winds to cause issues.
"While current forecasts suggest the highest potential for wetter, stickier snow is in coastal areas, small changes in the temperature can make a significant change on the overall impact of the storm. Activating our Emergency Operations Center helps to best coordinate our efforts system-wide during a major event of this nature," 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, and additional third party crews from Canada will arrive today in advance of the storm and will be prepared to provide assistance. Crews will be standing by in all regions, and Unitil will continue to monitor the forecast as the storm arrives.
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.
