National Grid Urges New England Customers to Stay Safe During and After Irene

WALTHAM, MA (08/28/2011)(readMedia)-- As Irene moves through parts of New England, National Grid is urging customers to stay safe during the storm while emergency, public safety, utility and other crews work to deal with its aftermath.

A total of approximately 3,500 restoration and support personnel are ready to respond to what Irene leaves in her wake in New England. Crews will be deployed as needed throughout New England to address outages. They will be supported by hundreds of other employees who will be providing services such as damage assessment, engineering, logistics and materials, communications, lodging and meals and other key functions.

"President Obama has deemed Irene as an 'historic' storm, and states of emergency have been declared across the entire area we serve," said Ellen Smith, National Grid chief operations officer. "We have prepared accordingly; our crews and support staff are ready to get to work restoring service to and assisting our customers as soon as the storm passes."

National Grid crews will begin restoring service as quickly as possible once safe conditions are established. Under our priority system, repair crews typically first address problems with transmission lines and substations that serve large numbers of customers, and restore critical customers such as hospitals and public safety facilities.

While those problems are being resolved, crews begin to work on substations and primary lines that serve many customers. Crews then target lines that serve local neighborhoods. Lines and transformers within neighborhoods and the wires that connect them to homes and businesses come next, starting with areas that involve the most customers.

Staying Safe During and After the Storm

It is very important to be aware of and avoid potential safety hazards during and after the storm. National Grid offers the following guidance to customers to avoid potentially serious injury:

• Continue to monitor www.nationalgridus.com and @nationalgridus on Twitter for important information from National Grid; text Irene to 50101 to receive mobile updates from us on storm restoration efforts. stay tuned to your local news media for important information from emergency management and public safety agencies
• Disconnect sensitive appliances, such as computers, televisions and microwaves to avoid potential power surge damage when electricity is restored.
• Keep refrigerator and freezer doors shut-food will last six to nine hours in a refrigerator without spoiling. Frozen foods will keep about 24 hours.
• Generator safety – if you use a generator make sure your wiring system is disconnected from our system before operating the generator. When using a portable generator, make sure the main circuit breaker in your electric service panel box is in the "off" position. If you have a fuse box instead of breakers, pull out the main block, remove the fuses and reinsert the empty block. This is necessary to prevent your generator's electricity from going back into our system, which could endanger the lives of line crews and your neighbors. Also, it's required by the National Electrical Code. Be sure to only use generators outdoors. Exhaust fumes contain poisonous carbon monoxide and can kill or cause serious injury.
• If your home floods:
  • Check with an electrician before turning on anything.
  • Do not turn off the gas meter even in the event of an evacuation. The gas meter should be left on to maintain proper pressure in the gas piping within the house and to prevent water from entering the lines should flooding occur.
  • Most gas appliances have safety valves that shut off the flow of gas automatically if the pilot light goes out. If your appliances have been in contact with water, please contact a licensed plumbing or heating contractor to make sure the appliances are safe to operate.
  • If we shut off your gas service for safety reasons, we will provide instructions on steps required to safely restore service. Don't forget to check outdoor appliances, such as pool heaters and gas grills.
• If you anticipate an extended electricity or gas outage, consider moving yourself and your family - especially those with special needs - to an alternate location.
• Consider checking on others who may benefit from your assistance.

Log on to www.nationalgridus.com for more information on how to stay safe during and after Irene.

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.