Unitil Corporation, (unitil.com), a provider of natural gas and electricity to customers in New England, has opened its system and regional emergency operations centers in response to the high winds impacting the region Christmas Day.
"Our crews and employees understand how important it is for our customers to be able to enjoy the Christmas holiday and will work to restore power as quickly as possible when outages occur."
VP of Communications & Public Affairs, Carol Valianti
As of approximately 6:00AM, only one Unitil customer is without power, however, wind gusts of 50-60 miles per hour are possible in all regions this morning. Gusts of this level not only have the potential to cause outages by pushing trees onto electric infrastructure, but can also delay restoration efforts for safety reasons because bucket trucks are unable to extend arms for safety reasons in high wind. The company is also working closely with municipal officials to ensure public safety and will be responding to downed trees and power lines and opening roadways where needed.
"Unitil has been monitoring and preparing for this weather event since last week. It’s been such a challenging year for everyone with the pandemic. Our crews and employees understand how important it is for our customers to be able to enjoy the Christmas holiday and will work to restore power as quickly as possible when outages occur," said Unitil's Vice President of Communications & Public Affairs Carol Valianti.
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.
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.
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.
