Unitil Corporation, (unitil.com), a provider of natural gas and electricity to customers in New England, is responding to outages in all regions following gusty overnight winds.
"Fresh crews will be on the system this morning, and will continue to restore power as conditions allow. Hazardous wind conditions will continue though the morning hours, so we urge all customers to remain prepared for the potential for additional outages to occur."
Alec O'Meara, Media Relations Manager
As of 6:30am, approximately 1,200 Unitil customers are without power, down from an overnight peak of 5,900, with 900 of those customers out in New Hampshire and 300 out in Massachusetts. Wind gusts approaching 55 miles per hour were reported during the overnight hours, causing outages throughout the system. Crews spent much of the overnight hours restoring power where possible while also coordinating with regional first responders to address wires down issues and other public safety matters.
"The high winds and bitter cold have created brutal working conditions for crews, who have been working against the storm all night. Fresh crews will be on the system this morning, and will continue to restore power as conditions allow. Hazardous wind conditions will continue though the morning hours, so we urge all customers to remain prepared for the potential for additional outages to occur," said Unitil Media Relations Manager Alec O'Meara.
In light of the ongoing concerns regarding COVID-19, Unitil asks all members of the public to respect public health guidelines and to keep a safe distance from crews in the field. 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.
