NPU preparing for hurricane season

Extensive planning is key to safe, effective restoration effort

As hurricane season for 2024 moves forward, Norwich Public Utilities (NPU) continues its extensive efforts to prepare for severe weather that could impact utility services for its customers in the weeks and months ahead.

Ahead of every major storm, NPU confirms that it has the appropriate materials, equipment, and personnel in place to respond to an emergency; in some instances, NPU may pre-stage vehicles and equipment across the city to allow for a more immediate response to large-scale emergency.

Over the past several months, NPU’s annual pre-hurricane season preparations have been reviewed and confirmed, including:

• Tree trimming – Throughout the year, NPU line crews and two contractors tree crews work on tree trimming and removing heavy vegetation, especially vine growth in targeted areas.
• Contractors crews – NPU has confirmed the availability of additional contractor tree crews that are assigned to the utility; additional assistance will be secured by NPU if necessary.
• Mutual aid – NPU has mutual aid agreements with the Northeast Public Power Association (NEPPA) and the American Public Power Association (APPA). If a storm is localized to lower New England, crews from other NEPPA members will be able to send line crews to assist with restoration efforts in Norwich.

NPU will also utilize two important technologies to provide regular updates to the public before and during a major storm:

• The Outage Map on the NPU website provides customers with a snapshot of outages across the city. The map updates every ten minutes and displays clusters of customers out of service, not individual homes or businesses. Should a customer see that an outage is impacting their neighborhood on the outage map, a call into NPU’s Customer Service Center will not be necessary.
• NPU will also use its ‘robo-call’ system, CodeRed, if necessary, to make automated calls to customers to provide updates on outages.