Unitil Corporation, (unitil.com), a provider of natural gas and electricity to customers in New England, has opened its Emergency Operations Center to coordinate response efforts to an ongoing, long duration snowstorm impacting the area.
According to the most recent forecasts, an additional 4-7 inches of snow are possible in all service areas. While the majority of the snow which fell overnight was moderate in consistency, a more heavy, wet snow is expected to fall in all areas as temperatures climb. Wet, heavy snow can stick to trees and limbs, weighing down branches which may break and fall, causing damage to electric infrastructure.
Unitil has secured additional crews in advance of the storm and opened up its System Emergency Operations Center at 8:00 AM. Snow is expected to continue into Tuesday, and Unitil will continue to monitor the forecast and is prepared to escalate its response further if conditions warrant doing so.
"We have staggered our crew resources to make sure we continue to have fresh crews available as the hours wear on during what is effectively a 48-hour weather event. Crews will continue to stand by, and we are ready to work closely with first responders to address public safety issues as needed during the storm."
Unitil Media Relations Manager Alec O'Meara
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 at unitil.com/report-outage.
