- Crews have restored power to 92,000 homes and businesses, while wind yesterday afternoon caused new outages
- More than 500 internal and external crews are working 24/7 to restore power to 23,000 homes and businesses still without power
- Conditions are still extremely dangerous and many poles are broken
- Crews warn the public to stay clear of downed trees and power lines and call 911 if you see a line down
31 October 2017
COLCHESTER, Vt. – After working through the night, Green Mountain Power crews made great progress restoring power to 92,000 homes and businesses. As daylight comes on the second day since Sunday night and Monday morning’s massive windstorm, outages have now dropped to 23,000 homes and businesses. GMP crews will not stop working until all have power back on. This storm impacted 115,000 homes and businesses making it one of the biggest storms in recent history, with near hurricane force winds that toppled trees, branches and snapped poles. Crews have county level restoration times now, and expect to provide the public with town estimated restoration times tonight, though repairs could take through the end of the week.
“An army of more than 500 line workers, tree crews and field teams are making great progress to restore power, and we won’t stop until all have power,” said Kristin Carlson, VP of Strategic & External Affairs. “What is so unusual about this event is the breadth of impact. GMP had more people without power at one time than ever before, impacting every district we serve. We know this is day two for our customers and we are grateful for your patience. We urge you, if you need shelter, please call 2-1-1.”
Strong winds and rain began Sunday evening and lasted through Monday morning impacting nearly every region of the state. All told, nearly one-third of the state was without power as a result.
Safety remains a top priority. Crews focused their initial response on emergency situations such as live wires and poles closing roads and posing significant safety concerns. With the majority of that work complete, hundreds of crews will turn their focus on residential and business repairs, pole replacements and clearing downed trees and branches from lines.
“We urge Vermonters to stay clear of downed trees, branches and power lines and report them by calling 911,” Carlson continued. “We’ll keep the public and media informed as this storm progresses through regular press releases and updates on social media.”
For safety information, customers can visit: http://www.gmpsnapshot.greenmountainpower.com/learn/safety-guide/
Customers may report outages and get updates through GMP’s text service or app, as well as by calling 1-888-835-4672, or visiting GMP’s Outage Center at www.gmpsnapshot.greenmountainpower.com.
To get the latest information on outages and restoration times, customers can sign up for text service alerts, by texting REG to 46788 or GMPVT, or signing up online at http://www.gmpsnapshot.greenmountainpower.com/textalerts. Customers can also download the GMP app at the App Store or Google Play Store to quickly and easily report outages.
About Green Mountain Power:
Green Mountain Power (GMP) serves approximately 265,000 residential and business customers in Vermont and is partnering with Vermonters to improve lives and transform communities. GMP is focused on a new way of doing business to meet the needs of customers with integrated energy services that help people use less energy and save money, while continuing to generate clean, cost-effective and reliable power in Vermont. GMP is the first utility in the world to get a B Corp certification, meeting rigorous social, environmental, accountability and transparency standards and committing to use business as a force for good. In 2014, Vote Solar named GMP a Solar Champion. More information at: www.gmpsnapshot.greenmountainpower.com. Connect with GMP on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @GreenMtnPower.
Kristin Carlson
Green Mountain Power
(802) 229-8200