Heavy, wet snow, strong winds create significant outages across the state

NORWICH – On Saturday morning, three employees from Norwich Public Utilities (NPU) were dispatched to provide mutual aid support for the New Hampshire Electric Co-Operative following reports of widespread power outages across the state following heavy, wet snow in the greater-Plymouth area late last week.

“Mutual aid is one of the most important public safety initiatives across the utility industry. So, whenever we can lend a hand to a neighbor without impacting our customers, NPU will always respond,” said Chris LaRose, General Manager of NPU. “It is inevitable that someday, our community will need the same type of help from other public utilities.”

NPU Linemen John Benoit and Jeff Burgess and Supervisor Scott Smith left for New Hampshire in an NPU line truck; they have been working through very challenging conditions, with snowfall totals exceeding 30 inches in some locations.

Through a mutual aid compact among members of the North East Public Power Association (NEPPA), all wages and associated expenses are covered by the utility requesting the assistance.

The three linemen worked on Saturday afternoon, all day Sunday and were expected to return to Norwich on Tuesday.

Media reports indicated that more than 50,000 customers across New Hampshire remained out of power on Sunday.

New Hampshire Electric Co-Op serves approximately 85,000 customers in 118 communities of rural Sullivan County.