National Grid Crews Continue to Work Through the Night to Restore Power to Customers in Storm-Damaged Merrimack Valley
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WALTHAM, MA – National Grid employees and contractors continue to work around the clock to restore power to customers in the Merrimack Valley following a sudden, severe thunderstorm that tore through the region on Friday afternoon, leaving uprooted and damaged trees, broken utility poles and hundreds of downed power lines in its wake.
By Sunday evening, National Grid had completed complicated repairs to a sub transmission line that runs along an MBTA line, making it difficult to access. These efforts have already restored power to most customers affected by the storm. As of Sunday evening, National Grid had restored service to over 81,000 Massachusetts customers who lost power because of the severe thunderstorm.
School restoration and public safety are top priorities. The company also continues its focus on critical facilities and life support customers while repairing the extensive storm damage visible along neighborhood streets and outside homes in the most impacted communities, including Andover, North Andover, Lawrence, and Chelmsford.
“Addressing the extensive level of damage street by street has been an arduous and time-consuming process,” said Tim Moore, Vice President for Electric Operations for New England. “We want our customers to know that we have dedicated, hard-working crews who are out there continuing to work through the night and for as long as it takes to get our remaining customers restored as we head into the week.”
National Grid forestry crews have cleaned up hundreds of fallen trees that were hindering access to restoration and National Grid employee and contractor crews spent much of Sunday replacing damaged utility poles and repairing infrastructure.
Over 400 overhead line, forestry, wires down, substation and damage assessment crews are assigned to the Massachusetts restoration effort. The crews, which include external resources from as far away as New York and Canada, are supported by hundreds of additional National Grid employees working on logistics, materials and other key functions that facilitate restoring service as quickly and safely as conditions permit.
Power is being consistently restored to customers and National Grid continues to refine estimated restoration times. It is normal for estimated restoration times to fluctuate as damage is assessed. Estimated restoration times are updated on the company’s Outage Central site. Additionally, customers can check on the power restoration estimate for their specific address by logging into our Report or Check an Outage page.
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 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 numbers:
- New England:1-800-233-5325
- Stay Out - Do not return to your home until National Grid tells you it is safe.
Heat Safety:
- Know the signs of heat-related illness. Heavy sweating, muscle cramps, and a fast pulse aren’t just signs of being warm. They are symptoms of heat-related illnesses like heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Know the signs and pay extra attention to children, seniors, and other vulnerable groups when the temperature and humidity rise.
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 and Massachusetts. National Grid is focused on building a smarter, stronger, cleaner energy future — transforming our networks with more reliable and resilient energy solutions to meet state climate goals and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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