Unitil Corporation, (www.unitil.com), a provider of natural gas and electricity to customers in New England, continue to make progress to restore power to customers following a heavy snowstorm Wednesday afternoon and evening.
“We recognize that today is Thanksgiving, and many families have had to make alternative plans for their holiday,” Unitil media relations manager Alec O’Meara said. “Crews are working tirelessly to restore power to your families before we return to our own families on this important holiday. We ask for your patience and understanding as restoration efforts continue.”
Unitil secured additional resources in preparation for this storm and these crews have been working throughout the night to restore power. Additional crews from as far away as Canada, Atlanta, Illinois and Tennessee have been secured and are joining the restoration effort.
As of 1 p.m., Unitil has approximately 15,700 customers without power, down from a peak of 31,000 overnight. Of those, approximately 13,750 of the customers without power are in Unitil’s New Hampshire Capital (Concord, NH) area, 1,000 are without power in the NH Seacoast region and 900 are without power in Massachusetts. The majority of customers in Massachusetts are still on target to be restored by the end of today, with some individual service issues continuing into Friday. In New Hampshire, we continue to assess the damage as it was more extensive in the Capital region.
Unitil will be communicating throughout the storm and restoration through Public Service Announcements (PSAs), our customer call center and through the media. We also encourage customers to follow along with our storm updates via our Twitter feed (@Unitil), on Facebook 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. Re-Tweets and re-posting of old information without referencing a time can create confusion.
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 and avoid anything metal nearby which could potentially conduct electricity. Stay in a safe place and avoid driving in damaged areas so you don’t interfere with rescue and restoration efforts.
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.
