Unitil has opened its system emergency operations center in response to outages sustained from the ongoing snowstorm.
Currently, approximately 5,810 Unitil customers are without power, 730 of which are in and around the Concord, NH region, 5,080 in the NH Seacoast area and currently no customers are without power in Massachusetts.
“Crews worked to restore power overnight to scattered outages while also working closely with first responders to address public safety concerns,” Unitil Media Relations Manager Alec O’Meara said. “Fresh crews are relieving the overnight crews this morning during what are expected to be the final peak hours of the event.”
Unitil has secured a compliment of approximately 85 crew resources as part of its preparations, a compliment that includes bucket, digger and tree crews, guides, damage assessors and wires down personnel.
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.
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 the following toll-free numbers:
- For the NH Seacoast Area: 1-800-582-7276
- For the NH Capital Area: 1-800-852-3339
- For Massachusetts: 1-888-301-7700
You can also report outages online at http://www.unitil.com/report-outage.
