Business & Tech

National Grid to Complete Rhode Island Power Restoration Today

The restoration of electricity and natural gas is scheduled to be completed Friday.

 

As of noon Friday, National Grid had restored power to more than 116,000 customers or 97 percent of those affected by the devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy. This is down from a peak of more than 122,000 customers in the early hours of Tuesday morning. 

Crews continue to work around the clock to restore the remaining customers and Tim Horan, president, National Grid Rhode Island, expects that power will be restored to all remaining customers by tonight. There may be a handful of scattered, isolated outages in areas where damage was particularly severe or where a property owner must make repairs that could go into Saturday. 

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Approximately 100 additional electric crews from Massachusetts are in Rhode Island to help complete the restoration. 

National Grid also has restored natural gas service to all customers in Westerly and Newport, where it is physically possible to do so. Gas service was temporarily suspended Monday in parts of both communities as a precaution while the system was evaluated to ensure it had not been compromised by the storm. National Grid crews have been out in force going door-to-door to relight all gas appliances. Property owners who have been away from their home or business should contact National Grid at 1-800-322-3223 so that a technician can come restore their service. 

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In the Misquamicut Beach area of Westerly, parts of the natural gas and electricity distribution systems were heavily damaged by coastal flooding and hurricane-force winds. National Grid is working with state and local officials to develop a plan for the reconstruction of that area, and will keep customers apprised as the plans progress. 

“While the vast majority of our Rhode Island customers will have their service restored today, we want our customers in Westerly to know that we are here for them and we will not rest until everyone has electricity and gas,” Horan said. “We are grateful to our state and local officials for their support and cooperation as we conducted the restoration, and will continue to work in partnership with them to help our customers in Westerly recover from this devastating storm.” 

 


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