About 14,000 in N.H. still without power after storm topples trees
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire utility companies report that about 14,000 customers were still without power Sunday after thunderstorms brought high winds that toppled trees that brought down power lines.
Eversource crews are working to restore power to more than 10,000, down from a peak of about 60,000 outages in the aftermath of Saturday's storm. Most of those still without power are in New London, Wilmot, Loudon and Hopkinton, but many municipalities have scattered outages.
New Hampshire Electric Cooperative is reporting nearly 3,500 customers still without power, down from a peak of 9,500.
Unitil says most of its 350 customers still without power are in the greater Concord area. More than 12,000 Unitil customers lost power Saturday.
The utility companies say some customers may not have their power restored until Monday.
From Unitil:
Electricity provider Unitil reports that 6,200 customers were in the dark early Sunday but as of 9 a.m. less than 350 customers are now without power after ongoing restoration in the wake of a severe thunderstorm Saturday evening.
According to the reports in the wake of the storms, strong wind gusts and a high volume of lightning strikes occurred during the event, causing the high volume of outages. At peak approximately 12,500 customers were impacted. As of 9 a.m., approximately 350 customers are without power, with most of the remaining customers out in the Boscawen/Chichester, N.H. area.
Restoration will continue through the day today as fresh crews replace the crews who worked the overnight hours.
“Crews did an outstanding job picking up the majority of customers overnight and we are moving into the final phase of this restoration, picking up individual street and home outages.” Unitil Media Relations Manager Alec O’Meara said. “If you are still without power and your neighborhood has been restored, call customer service to make sure your outage is in the system.”
Customers experiencing outages should call the following toll-free numbers:
For the NH Seacoast Area: 1-800-582-7276
For the NH Capital Area: 1-800-852-3339
For Massachusetts: 1-888-301-7700
You can also report outages online at www.unitil.com/report-outage.
From Eversource:
Eversource crews are also working to restore power and have more than 500 line and tree workers on system Sunday.
Hundreds of line and tree workers are clearing limbs and trees and repairing damage caused by Saturday's severe weather event. Crews restored power to tens of thousands of Eversource customers overnight, and about 13,000 remained without power at 7:00 a.m. Sunday.
More than 60,000 Eversource customers in New Hampshire were without power at the peak of the storm late Saturday afternoon. Local crews were supported by Eversource workers from Massachusetts and Connecticut and worked overnight to restore power. More than 500 line and tree workers will be working on the system Sunday.
Eversource crews and contractors will work around the clock until all customers have power restored. The majority of those customers still without power will be restored by late Sunday. The company anticipates that some outages will remain overnight and into Monday, given the extensive and widespread nature of the damage, including some roadways still blocked by downed trees.
Safety First - Customers should never approach a downed wire and should be cautious of downed wires potentially covered by fallen tree limbs or branches. Back-up/emergency generators can be very useful around your home or business. But, it's critical to your safety and the safety of others, including Eversource electrical crews, that they be installed and operated properly. Guidelines are posted on the Safety section of our website.
Staying Informed - During power restoration efforts, Eversource uses a variety of communication tools to keep the public informed. Customers can follow Eversource on Twitter @eversourcenh or on Facebook for real time updates. An outage map on Eversource.com is also regularly updated to provide information about each community served by Eversource.
Community Liaisons - During major power restoration efforts, Eversource deploys a network of community liaisons to interact with local officials in every impacted community. Eversource reminds communities of the need to designate a single emergency management contact to work with our community liaisons.