WALTHAM, MA – National Grid crews have restored power to more than 127,000 customers since gusting winds and heavy rain impacted Massachusetts Sunday evening and throughout the day Monday.

The powerful storm, which brought strong winds and significant rainfall, took down trees, tree limbs, and power lines across the region. The company has increased staffing, work shifts, and secured additional crews, including from New York and Canada, that will continue to work around the clock until service is restored to all customers. Downed trees and limbs, along with flooding, are making some streets and roads difficult for crews to access, and sustained high winds throughout the day have created unsafe work conditions in some areas, limiting restoration activities.

“Our crews worked throughout the day today, where safe to do so, and will continue throughout the night and around the clock to restore power to our customers as quickly and safely as possible,” said Tim Moore, Vice President for Electric Operations for New England. “We are working through multiple 911 and other emergency calls, and our workforce is removing hazards, navigating around fallen trees, blocked roads, and flooding as we make repairs and restore service throughout the impacted regions. We thank our customers for their patience and understanding as we continue to make progress.”

At the peak of the storm at noon, approximately 200,000 customers were without power, primarily in hard-hit regions in the eastern part of the state, particularly the Merrimack Valley, North Shore, South Shore, and Blackstone River Valley areas. As of 7:30 p.m., there remain approximately 145,000 customers without power. 

The company has deployed additional line and tree crews to remove downed wires, trees, broken poles, and other hazards to advance repair efforts as quickly and safely as possible during this multi-day event. This includes overhead line, forestry, contractors, underground, damage assessment, wires down, transmission, and substation workers.

Field personnel in Massachusetts are first responding to emergency 911 and wires down calls and prioritizing hospitals and other critical care facilities. Crews will then assess damage, clear trees, and make repairs to electrical infrastructure wherever conditions are safe to do so.

As always, the safety of our customers, communities, and crews is the top priority during any power restoration process. Our crews begin the restoration process when it is deemed safe to conduct work. For example, it is not safe to work in an elevated bucket during periods of increased wind gusts.

The company is continuing to monitor the weather and communicate with local officials, first responders, and life support customers.

Additionally, National Grid will continue updating estimated restoration times throughout the day. Customers may check on the status of their outage by logging into our Report or Check an Outage page. National Grid’s extensive resources will remain in the region until the last outage is repaired.

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.