National Grid Continues Restoration from Weekend Winter Storm
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WALTHAM, Mass. — National Grid crews worked through the overnight hours, continuing their efforts to fully restore service from a powerful weekend storm that dumped up to 18 inches of snow across parts of Massachusetts.
Since the storm's arrival Saturday night, National Grid has restored service to more than 54,000 customers, working around the clock through conditions that included poor visibility, snow-filled streets and roads, falling temperatures, and downed wires, branches, and trees.
"Our crews are back in the field today, working to restore power to our customers as quickly and safely as possible," said Tim Moore, Vice President for Electric Operations for New England. "We have reallocated crews to Merrimack Valley region areas and expect to have nearly all restoration activities completed this evening. Meanwhile, we're preparing for tomorrow's storm, which is expected to bring strong winds, especially along the coast. We recognize that some customers will feel the impact of multiple storms in a short period of time, but we will strive to restore affected customers as quickly and safely as possible."
The weekend storm, which featured multiple bands of snow and strong winds, swept across Massachusetts Saturday night through Sunday afternoon, dropping significant amounts of heavy, wet snow in the Western, Central and Merrimack Valley regions of the state. As crews restored some locations, the strong weather knocked out power in other places through much of Sunday.
At the peak of the storm at 5 p.m. Sunday, approximately 15,000 customers were without power, primarily in hard-hit regions in Essex and Middlesex counties, including the Merrimack Valley. As of 10 a.m., there remain approximately 4,800 customers without power, mainly in the Merrimack Valley. National Grid expects nearly all customers impacted by this weekend's storm will be restored by this evening.
National Grid will continue updating estimated restoration times throughout the day. Customers may check on the status of their outage by logging into our Report or Check an Outage page.
National Grid's extensive resources will remain in the region until the last outage is repaired.
Even as restoration efforts from the weekend storm progress, National Grid teams are monitoring and preparing for a second weather event tomorrow. Current forecasts indicate a multi-day storm moving into Massachusetts Tuesday evening that features hazardous wind gusts as high as 70 mph in some regions. The storm is predicted to feature snow at the onset but is expected to change to rain as warmer air moves into the region.
The company offers the following tips and reminders:
The company offers the following tips and reminders:
Customers Should Stay Connected:
- Report power outages at www.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 at www.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
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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 complete 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 excellent 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.
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.
Gas Safety:
- If you suspect a natural gas leak:
- Get Out - All occupants should leave the house immediately. Do not use the telephone or light switches for any reason.
- Call Us – After leaving the house and reaching a safe environment, call the National Grid 24-hour gas emergency number for Massachusetts: 1-800-233-5325
- Stay Out - Do not return to your home until National Grid tells you it is safe.
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