MANCHESTER, NH – Hundreds of Eversource crews were working around-the-clock to safely restore power to customers after the first nor’easter of the season brought wet, heavy snow and strong winds to New Hampshire. The energy company has restored power to more than 90,000 customers since the storm began Saturday morning, including nearly 36,500 customers in fewer than five minutes using smart switches to isolate outages and reroute power from a back-up source. As of 11 a.m., 39,375 customers remain without power, including 275 in Manchester.
“This storm brought substantial amounts of wet, heavy snow that weighed down wires and fractured tree limbs – causing significant, widespread damage to the electric system across the state,” said Eversource NH President Joe Purington.
“Working through the night, our crews made good progress and have restored power to more than 90,000 customers while operating under our COVID-19 pandemic plan. We’re bringing in additional out-of-state crews today to support our restoration efforts, and we’ll continue to shift resources to the hardest-hit areas as our dedicated employees work around-the-clock until every customer has their power back,” he said.
With more than 150 additional crews arriving today from Connecticut and Massachusetts as response efforts in those states wrap up, the energy company anticipates that it will be the end of the day Tuesday until restoration is substantially complete. In coordination with local public safety officials, crews have focused on clearing blocked roads and other hazards to ensure safety while repairing the widespread damage.
The energy company continues to caution customers to always stay clear of downed wires and to report them immediately to 9-1-1. For live updates on power restoration efforts, follow Eversource on Twitter (@eversourceNH). Up-to-date information regarding outages by community is available through the Eversource outage map.
