National Grid Makes Major Strides in Restoring Power to Massachusetts Customers Affected by January Nor'Easter

WALTHAM, MA (01/12/2011)(readMedia)-- More than 500 National Grid crews made significant progress today restoring power to customers across National Grid's Massachusetts service area. At the height of the storm, more than 75,000 Massachusetts customers were without power.

Crews worked in wet snow and high winds throughout the day, and as of 4 p.m., 61,000 customers have their power back, with approximately 14,000 remaining without service. Earlier today, more than 1,500 calls per hour were handled by National Grid's Customer Service team.

The hardest hit areas are the South Shore and southeastern Massachusetts, where heavy wet snow brought down trees and power lines. A high-voltage line in the Bridgewater area that feeds local lines serving more than 26,000 customers was damaged by the storm and required extensive repairs that were completed mid-afternoon. Several other major lines were restored throughout the afternoon, further contributing to the drop in outage numbers.

Company officials anticipate that the majority of customers will have their power back overnight tonight, with all customers restored by tomorrow evening.

National Grid continues to work closely with local and state public safety and emergency response officials to facilitate a coordinated and safe storm response.

"I want our customers to know we are doing everything possible to minimize the duration of these outages," said Christopher E. Root, National Grid senior vice president of Electricity Operations. "We will not rest until every customer is restored."

Root added that customers should be vigilant and stay away from downed wires as more may fall this evening and overnight. He also reminds customers to drive safety and be aware of utility crews working on local streets.

National Grid is an international energy delivery company. In the U.S., National Grid delivers electricity to approximately 3.3 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island, and manages the electricity network on Long Island under an agreement with the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA). It is the largest distributor of natural gas in the northeastern U.S., serving approximately 3.4 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island. National Grid also owns over 4,000 megawatts of contracted electricity generation that provides power to over one million LIPA customers.

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