National Grid : Progresses Restoration after Damaging Storm

National Grid Progresses Restoration after Damaging Storm Aug 05, 2020 - 4:30 PM

Power restored to 260,000 customers; crews continue to address outages, cleanup, damage

August 5, 2020 CONTACT: Media Relations - 781- 907-3980

WALTHAM, MA - Roughly 24 hours after Tropical Storm Isaias hit New England, thrashing the region with heavy rain and winds that toppled entire trees and took down power lines, thousands of National Grid employees and contractors are focused on clean-up and restoration.

More than 381,000 customers have lost their power at some point during the storm. While National Grid has made great progress, restoring 162,500 in Massachusetts and 97,000 in Rhode Island in less than a day, the company realizes that its job is not done until each customer is back on.

'Our crews worked throughout the night and into today to restore power to hundreds of thousands of our customers, but we know there are still customers waiting,' said Michael McCallan, Vice President of New England Electric Operations. 'We are on track to restore most customers by tomorrow night, and we will continue working until every customer is back on.'

National Grid had been tracking the storm for the last several days, and was well-prepared to respond, with overhead line, forestry, wires down, transmission, underground and substation workers mobilized across staging sites in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

The storm struck New England late Tuesday afternoon, bringing with it heavy rain and up to 60 mph winds. At the peak of the storm, at around 7 p.m. Tuesday, nearly 190,000 customers in Massachusetts and 137,000 customers in Rhode Island experienced power outages.

The company deployed additional line and tree crews Wednesday morning to remove downed wires, trees, broken poles, and other hazards to start repairing the damage as quickly and safely as possible. COVID-19 has presented additional challenges to crews, but they are adhering to all pandemic safety protocols. In total, more than 2,700 personnel are working in the field - 1,951 in Massachusetts and 751 in Rhode Island. As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, roughly 74,258 remained without power in Massachusetts, and 46,685 customers had service interruptions in Rhode Island.

The hardest hit areas include Hampden, Berkshire, and Worcester counties in Massachusetts. In Rhode Island, the most impacted communities are Coventry, Cranston, Cumberland, and Providence. The majority of customers are expected to be restored by Thursday night. For the most up to date information, which is refined as damage is assessed and crews are assigned, customers are urged to look up their address on www.nationalgridus.com/outage-central.

The Company offers the following tips and reminders:

Customers Should Stay Connected:

• Report power outages atwww.nationalgridus.com or call 1-800-465-1212.
• Use your mobile device to track outage information and storm-related safety tips through National Grid's mobile site accessible atwww.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 and estimated restoration times at www.nationalgridus.com/outage-central
• To stay connected during storms and outages, text to 64743 using any of the below commands.
• REG to sign up for text alerts
• OUT to report an outage
• SUM followed by your town, county, or state to get a summary of outages in your area
• HELP for the full list of commands

Stay 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.

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About National Grid

About National Grid: National Grid (NYSE: NGG) is an electricity, natural gas, and clean energy delivery company serving more than 20 million people through our networks in New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. National Grid is transforming our electricity and natural gas networks with smarter, cleaner, and more resilient energy solutions to meet the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

For more information, please visit our website, follow us on Twitter, watch us on YouTube, friend us on Facebook, and find our photos on Instagram.