Unitil Corporation, (www.unitil.com), a provider of natural gas and electricity to customers in New England, is continuing to respond to outages caused by a band of heavy wind passing though all service territories today.
As of 3 p.m., approximately 11,000 customers are without power, down from a mid-day peak of 29,000. Of those, approximately 9,100 customers are out in Massachusetts and 1,900 in New Hampshire. There are currently multiple reports of wires down issues in both states due to the wind.
“Winds are expected to remain gusty through the afternoon, meaning the situation will continue to be fluid for the rest of the day,” Unitil Media Relations Manager Alec O’Meara said. “Crews will continue to restore power where they can, but we will need to complete an assessment of the damage in the field before we know how long it will take to complete the restoration.”
Downed wires can be a major factor during wind events. 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.
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
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-
