National Grid has 700 Working to Restore Power in Massachusetts

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More than 60 percent of Massachusetts and Rhode Island customers restored within 24 hours; thousands working in communities and behind the scenes to support restoration efforts.

After a powerful storm tore down thousands of trees and hundreds of power lines Sunday night, National Grid crews have restored power to more than 60 percent of the 436,000 impacted customers in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Dan Bunszell, National Grid’s vice president of New England Electric Operations, said, “The crews made tremendous progress overnight restoring power to our customers while remaining focused on public safety. We appreciate our customers’ continued patience and understanding as we work to get power restored to everyone.”

The company responded to approximately 2,400 emergency 911-related calls yesterday and overnight in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, while simultaneously restoring power to approximately 275,000 customers (as of 12:30 p.m. today).

Massachusetts:
Crews: 700

Peak outages: 282,000
Current outages: 96,000
Emergency 911 call responses: 1,600

Rhode Island:
Crews: 260

Peak outages: 154,000
Current outages: 65,000
Emergency 911 call responses: 800

National Grid expects to continue making significant progress into tonight, restoring the majority of customers by tomorrow. There are more than 960 crews on the ground or en route across Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The crews are supported by hundreds of additional National Grid employees working on logistics, materials, and other key functions that facilitate the restoration process.

Crews will continue to work around the clock until all customers are restored.

Estimated restoration times (ETRs) should be available in many areas early this afternoon, with more detail released throughout the day. Given the severity of damage in some of the hardest hit areas, only general estimates may be available.  It’s important to note that the ETR indicates when the last customer in a particular community is expected to have power, and that customers will be restored on an ongoing basis in the meantime.

With Halloween trick-or-treating planned in some communities tonight, National Grid urges customers to stay safe, keep away from downed power lines, and report any outages at www.nationalgridus.com or call 1-800-465-1212.

We are keeping safety a priority:

We urge customers to watch out for their own wellbeing and the safety of utility crews working during the storm. Here are some tips to help keep everyone safe:

• Never touch downed power lines, and always assume that any fallen lines are live electric wires. If you see one, report it immediately to National Grid or your local emergency response organization.
• Power problems can sometimes interrupt public water supply systems or disable well pumps, so it’s an especially good idea to keep a supply of bottled drinking water handy, as well as some canned food.
• People who depend on electric-powered life support equipment, such as a respirator, should let National Grid know. To register as a life support customer, call the company’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-322-3223.
• Check on elderly family members, neighbors and others who may need assistance during an outage period.

Electric safety

• If you use a generator to supply power during an outage, be sure to operate it outdoors. Before operating generators, disconnect from National Grid’s system by shutting off the main breaker located in the electric service panel. Failure to do this could jeopardize the safety of line crews and the public.
• If you lose power, turn off any appliances that were on when the power went off, but leave one light on so you will know when power is restored.
• Reminder: It’s not safe to work in an elevated bucket during periods of increased wind gusts. Our line workers begin restoration work only when conditions are deemed safe.

We are updating our customers:

• Report power outages at nationalgridus.com or call 1-800-465-1212.
• Receive text message alerts and updates when you text the word STORM to NGRID (64743).
• Use your mobile device to track outage information and storm-related safety tips through National Grid’s mobile site accessible at ngrid.com/mobile.
• Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram; we post all the latest storm and restoration updates.
• Track outages at nationalgridus.com/outage-central.