WALTHAM, MA – Following a damaging storm that swept through Central and Western Massachusetts on Monday bringing heavy wet snow and gusting winds that toppled trees, took down power lines, and broke poles, National Grid remains focused on the safety of its employees and communities during clean-up, repairs, and restoration.

More than 27,800 customers have had service restored since the storm began, with roughly 12,300 customers currently without power, mainly in the Worcester County communities of Gardner, Harvard, Hubbardston, Westminster, and Winchendon. Additional crews have been shifted to these areas and are working to restore power, combating significant damage in the area, including downed wires, damaged equipment, and falling branches. Access has also been impeded by uncleared roads in certain areas. National Grid understands that no one wants to be without electricity and will continue to work around the clock until each customer has been reconnected.

“Our crews have been working through challenging conditions and remain dedicated to restoring customers as quickly as possible while keeping our teams and the public safe,” said Tanya Moniz-Witten, Vice President of New England Electric Operations. “We are on track to restore most customers by tonight, and we will continue working until every last customer has had their service restored.”

National Grid had tracked the storm for 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.

The company has deployed more than 1,200 personnel to respond to the storm, removing downed wires, fallen trees, and other hazards in advance of restoring power by repairing lines and replacing poles and other equipment.

This remains a multi-day restoration event and National Grid expects most customers affected by the outages will have their power restored by Tuesday night, while there will be some pockets without power into Wednesday. Crews will continue to work until every customer’s power is restored.

National Grid continually updates estimated restoration times for all impacted areas. It's normal for outage numbers and restoration times to fluctuate due to a variety of issues, including work volume, the cause of the outage, and additional information about the extent of damage.

Additionally, National Grid is monitoring a potential winter storm system that could impact Massachusetts beginning Wednesday evening. While current restoration efforts continue, the company is securing additional crews and preparing resources for any potential impacts.   

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
• 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. 

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 numbers:
• New England:1-800-640-1595
• Stay Out - Do not return to your home until National Grid tells you it is safe.

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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