Final Blizzard Update – Emergency Efforts Wind Down

Scaled down response will remain in place overnight

Manchester, NH (January 27, 2015) – With the 2015 blizzard entering its final hours, Public Service of New Hampshire is closing its emergency operations center. A contingent of line workers and support personnel will remain on duty overnight to respond quickly to any power outages that may occur as the result of the lingering high winds and snow.

Since the storm began late Monday night, crews have been able to restore scattered outages that impacted no more than a fewer hundred customers at any given time. PSNH had approximately 275 line workers and 180 tree workers in place before dawn to respond to outages as quickly as weather conditions allowed. 

While New Hampshire appears to have been spared the brunt of this storm, eastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod have experienced severe conditions and significant power outages.  Several PSNH supervisors, as well as roughly 100 contracted line crews originally headed to New Hampshire, will now help our sister company, NSTAR, in its restoration efforts. 

The PSNH electric system has held up well through the storm thanks to a combination of manageable weather conditions, storm preparations, and ongoing system improvements. The company spent $15 million dollars just last year to trim trees along some 2,600 circuit miles and remove 11,640 hazard trees.  This helps to fortify our transmission and distribution lines against the typical hazards that go along with winter weather.

PSNH customers can report power outages by calling 1-800-662-7764 or by visiting the mobile website m.psnh.com.

Safety First – Customers should never approach a downed wire and should be cautious of downed wires potentially covered by snow. Back-up/emergency generators can be very useful around your home or business. But, it’s critical to your safety and the safety of others, including PSNH electrical crews, that they be installed and operated properly. Guidelines are posted on the Safety section of our website.

Staying Informed – During power restoration efforts, PSNH uses a variety of communication tools to keep the public informed. Customers can follow PSNH on Twitter or on Facebook for real time updates. PSNH also uses a news blog, psnhnews.com, to post press releases, outage updates, and other important storm related information. Customers can also access PSNH’s outage map to see up to date outage information about their community.

Community Liaisons – During major power restoration efforts, PSNH deploys a network of community liaisons to interact with local officials in every impacted community. PSNH reminds communities of the need to designate a single emergency management contact to work with our community liaisons.