Unitil Corporation, (www.unitil.com), a provider of natural gas and electricity to customers in New England, intends to open its Emergency Operation Center at 8 a.m. Sunday morning in response to the changing forecast for tonight and into tomorrow.
According to the most recent forecasts, 4-8 inches of snow is possible in all regions, with higher volumes possible in the Concord, NH area. While the forecasted snow volume has dropped compared to forecasts earlier in the week, the expected snow may be wetter inconsistency and may be accompanied by sleet and freezing rain in southern parts of the service territory. Wind gusts of up to 40 mph are also possible in coastal areas.
“The combination of wet snow, wind and some icing has the potential to cause outages on the system, depending on the timing and volume of snow to fall,” Unitil Media Relations Manager Alec O’Meara said.“Crews will be standing by throughout the event, with an added emphasis on Sunday morning, as that is when the highest variety of wintry conditions are possible.”
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 www.unitil.com/map.
