WALTHAM, MA – With colder weather and storm season on the horizon, National Grid is encouraging customers to proactively prepare their homes and businesses for the winter season and take advantage of energy and cost-saving measures available through National Grid and our partners at Mass Save. As the weather gets colder, and with more frequent and more powerful storms becoming the norm, it is important for customers to be prepared, stay connected, and take action in advance of the upcoming winter heating season.

At National Grid, our teams work day in and day out to ensure that our customers receive the safest and most reliable energy service possible. The company is continuously inspecting, investing in, and upgrading critical infrastructure, performing vegetation management services to keep power lines clear of obstructions, and preparing our crews to respond to significant weather events.

In 2022, National Grid upgraded and modernized infrastructure across Massachusetts, including work that made our critical facilities that help power and heat homes and businesses more resilient and more secure, added more automation to our system to be able to identify issues before they happen and more quickly restore power if an event occurs, and clear vegetation that is near our infrastructure to avoid outages. 

These investments, along with other efforts, have resulted in National Grid having strong system performance in 2023, with our Massachusetts electric network operating at 99.95 percent availability, providing customers with reliable electric service. In support of our storm preparation and restoration efforts, National Grid routinely conducts training drills and tabletop exercises and is in regular contact with local public safety and emergency response officials. Additionally, National Grid has community liaisons assigned to every city and town the company serves. We make outbound calls to critical care customers and undertake robust communication efforts to keep our customers informed. 

“As we head into the fall and winter months, the chance for harsh weather to potentially impact our customers in Massachusetts is greatly increased,” said Tim Moore, Vice President of New England Electric Operations. “Ahead of these more unpredictable seasons, we recommend all our customers ensure they are prepared in case of outages in their area. National Grid takes steps throughout the year to make our system more resilient, but major storms can cause significant damage. In the event of a power outage, our crews and support teams will be ready and working for as long as needed to safely restore service as quickly as possible.”

National Grid is offering customers the following tips and reminders to help keep them prepared for the months ahead:

Prepare your home:

• Customers with generators are encouraged to conduct regular maintenance checks to ensure the generator is operating safely.
• If applicable, schedule a home’s furnace tune-up to ensure it is in proper working order, and ensure it and any water heaters are properly vented.
• Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and change the batteries every year.
• Remove dead or rotting branches on trees.
• Schedule a free Mass Save home energy assessment to learn ways to reduce winter energy use. Call 888-774-3167 to schedule an appointment.

Prepare a winter emergency kit in the event of a major storm with the following items:

• Water – the American Red Cross recommends one gallon of water per person per day.
• Food – at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food, plus a can opener.
• Battery-powered or hand crank radio.
• Flashlight and extra batteries.
• First-aid kit.
• Moist towelettes, garbage bags, and plastic ties for personal sanitation.
• Personal hygiene supplies.
• Extra cash.
• Cell phone with chargers.
• Emergency contact numbers.

Other items to consider may be found on the National Grid website here.

Winter also means increased energy usage. Our Customer Savings Initiative is designed to help customers reduce their energy use and lower energy costs, manage their energy bills and payments, and help them secure available energy assistance. More information can be found at ngrid.com/heretohelp. Additionally, National Grid is continuing to meet customers in the communities where they live and work to offer assistance through our Customer Saving Events across Massachusetts.

Stay Safe: 

• 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.

Customers Should Stay Connected:

• Report power outages at www.nationalgridus.com or call 1-800-465-1212.
• Use a mobile device to track outage information and storm-related safety tips through National Grid’s mobile site, accessible at www.ngrid.com/mobile.
• Like National Grid on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram; National Grid posts all the latest storm and restoration updates.
• Track outages and estimated restoration times at www.nationalgridus.com/outage-central.
• Make sure National Grid has updated email addresses and phone numbers on file. Update contact information at ngrid.com. Click on sign in/register.
• 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  

Additional safety information may be found at https://www.nationalgridus.com/MA-Home/Storm-Safety/

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.