December 22, 2022 – With heavy rain and strong winds likely to impact Norwich later this week, Norwich Public Utilities (NPU) is preparing for the likelihood of power outages on Friday into Saturday.
“We have been following this storm very closely all week and expect to have power outages on Friday. But we’ll have our personnel and equipment in place so that we can respond in a safe and efficient manner,” said Chris LaRose, General Manager of NPU. “We have a great team with years of experience in dealing with extreme weather, so we are ready to go.”
Over the past two days, NPU has been preparing for the possibility extreme weather that could impact the region on Friday and into Saturday. Steps being taken by NPU to prepare for the storm include:
- Having all response vehicles inspected and fueled
- Confirming adequate supplies of all necessary materials and equipment are in place
- Assuring appropriate staffing for all critical functions of NPU including the Line and Gas Departments, Customer Service, Communications, GIS, Information Technology, as well as maintenance mechanics and engineers
- Testing of all internal communications and external equipment
- Having two contractor tree crews available on Friday
Before and during any wide-spread outages, NPU will provide regular updates on its Facebook and web page, and through local media outlets. Customers can also track outages on the Outage Map on the NPU website.
If circumstances warrant, the Emergency Operations Centers (EOC) for the City of Norwich and NPU at 16 South Golden Street in Norwich can be activated in less than an hour.
NPU’s Customer Service Center will be closed at noon on Friday, but any service or outage-related issues can be reported to NPU at (860) 887-2555; Customer can also manage account transactions online via the NPU website (www.norwichpublicutilities.com).
NPU reminds the public than any downed utility wire should be assumed to be energized and a potentially lethal hazard. Report any downed wires to 9-1-1 immediately.