WALTHAM, MA – National Grid crews continue to restore electric service to affected customers today following the powerful storm that swept across Massachusetts on Sunday evening through Monday. Since the peak of the storm, National Grid has restored more than 265,000 of the approximately 280,000 customers who lost power at some point during a holiday week storm that featured high winds, significant rain, and flooding.

Crews will continue focusing on the hardest hit parts of the state, including the South Shore and southeastern areas of Massachusetts, such as the counties of Plymouth, Norfolk, and Bristol.

As of 10:30 a.m., less than 12,000 customers remained without power. The company has secured crews from New York, New Hampshire, Canada, and from as far away as Kentucky, all of whom will work around the clock until service is restored to all customers. 

"Our crews have been working tirelessly since the storm began and have made great progress, but we understand we still have a significant amount of work ahead of us," said Tim Moore, Vice President for Electric Operations for New England. "Within individual neighborhoods, the repair work is often time-intensive and complex. National Grid recognizes that we are approaching a major holiday weekend. We have over 2,000 personnel in place who will work as long as needed to restore service to every customer."

Since the start of this storm, National Grid replaced more than 400 utility poles. Setting poles is a labor and time-intensive process; each replacement can take four or more hours to complete.

On Tuesday, 13 schools in the Merrimack Valley had their service restored, and all remaining schools will be restored today.

National Grid will continue updating and refining estimated times of restoration (ETRs) for all impacted areas and will continue to do so throughout the day on Wednesday. During a major storm event with widespread damage, "Global ETRs" are provided until estimates for individual communities can be refined. This Global ETR designation is constantly updated as more precise damage assessment reports are received and reviews are completed on the needed equipment providing service to the customer. Additionally, there could be new outages that occur that are separate from storm-related outages.

As always, the safety of our customers, communities, and crews is the top priority during any power restoration process.

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 number for Massachusetts: 1-800-233-5325
• Stay Out - Do not return to your home until National Grid tells you it is safe.

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.