MANCHESTER, N.H. (December 19, 2023) – Working around-the-clock following Monday’s powerful storm that brought heavy rain and strong winds to the entire region and caused significant tree damage to the electric system statewide, Eversource crews have restored power to more than 84,000 customers in New Hampshire – including approximately 26,000 in fewer than five minutes by remote system operators using distribution automation technology.
As of 7:30 p.m. approximately 380 customers remained without power in New Hampshire, and the energy company will substantially complete restoration for all customers currently without power by 10 p.m., with the majority completed well before that.
New Hampshire Electric Co-Op reported 75 customers without power at that time and Unitil reported 49 affected.
“The cumulative effects of a highly saturated ground and tree branches weakened following storms earlier this month combined with yesterday’s heavy rain and powerful winds caused significant tree damage to the electric system in every region of New Hampshire,” said Eversource New Hampshire President of Electric Operations Doug Foley. “Working tirelessly since the storm entered the state overnight Sunday, our crews have made great progress working with public safety officials to clear blocked roads and address emergency situations while making repairs to restore power to more than 84,000 customers. As we compete restoration to all of our customers in the Granite State without power today, we will begin sending crews to support our fellow utilities in ongoing restoration efforts – including Eversource in Massachusetts, which was also pummeled by yesterday’s storm.”
Approximately 350 line, tree and service crews in New Hampshire worked through challenging conditions such as torrential downpours, high winds and flooded roads that impeded travel in order to address public safety issues and make repairs to the electric system. The strong winds and heavy rain yesterday were enough alone to cause significant tree damage, which was only exacerbated by the saturated ground and weakened tree limbs following other recent storms. Statewide, yesterday’s storm caused more than 80 blocked roads and more than 40 broken utility poles. Eversource will also be conducting aerial inspections of its system in New Hampshire today to identify any additional issues caused by the storm.
As Eversource crews continue working today to clear damage, make repairs and restore power to customers, outages impacting a larger number of customers will be restored first as damage impacting a single customer is typically further down the line and requires more time-intensive repairs. As restoration is completed for all New Hampshire customers, crews will begin deploying to support other utilities in the region in their restoration efforts.
Eversource encourages customers to take care when conducting their own storm cleanup today, as weakened trees and limbs could still come down with breezy conditions. Additional information and post-storm safety tips are available on the storm preparedness page of Eversource’s website.