National Grid has nearly 4,000 field personnel in Rhode Island and Massachusetts responding to power outages caused by downed limbs, trees, and poles resulting from Tropical Storm Henri. The storm is delivering fierce winds and heavy rain, with some peak gusts reaching above 70 mph, leading to significant damage.
Field personnel in Rhode Island and Massachusetts are responding to emergency 911 and wires down calls, assessing the damage, clearing trees, and making repairs to electrical infrastructure where conditions are safe. This enables the restoration to proceed safely and efficiently and helps us restore power to customers more quickly. Once damage assessment nears completion, National Grid will provide more information on potential estimated restoration times.
National Grid had restored power to more than 31,400 customers in Rhode Island and 20,700 Massachusetts since the storm’s impact began this yesterday morning. Restoration work is continuing as conditions are deemed safe. Peak wind gusts are still in the 25-35 mph range in some areas.
As of 5 p.m. yesterday, approximately 72,600 customers in Rhode Island and 8,500 in Massachusetts were without power. The hardest hit communities in Rhode Island include South Kingstown, Narragansett, Westerly, Jamestown, Charlestown and North Kingstown. As always, National Grid urges customers to stay safe and provides several ways to stay connected and up-to-date on the latest safety and restoration information.
“At National Grid, we recognize that losing your power at any time is frustrating. We want to assure our customers that we are working expeditiously to restore their service as quickly and safely as possible,” said Michael McCallan, Vice President of New England Electric Operations for National Grid. “Thousands of line and forestry workers are deployed across Rhode Island and Massachusetts, working to repair and restore the power systems in affected communities. We will not stop until every customer has their electricity back.”
National Grid anticipates having the vast majority of customers restored by mid-week. Damage assessment is currently underway, and as this phase nears completion, National Grid will provide more information and tighter timelines on estimated restoration times.
