Up to 400,000 Grid Customers Could Lose Power

National Grid spokesperson Marcy Reed said that up to 400,000 of its customers could lost power during the 2015 blizzard, reported MassLive.

The “potentially historic” storm is predicted to not only drop feet on the area, but push through with some whipping winds. Power lines are often no match for such conditions.

The 400,000 accounts for one-third of the company’s 1.2 million customers, which includes Marlborough and Westborough.

There are 18,383 National Grid customers in Marlborough, 8,141 in Grafton, 6,483 in Northborough and 8,051 in Westborough.

Depending on the severity, it could take days or even a week to restore power.

Outages can be reported, and outage updates can be found on the map here.

National Grid will have more than 850 line crews (approximately 2,550 people) and more than 380 tree crews (roughly 1,100 people) to handle the post-storm restoration effort in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, it announced in a press release.

“Hundreds of additional personnel will handle damage assessment and wires down duty – two critical components to ensure the restoration is safe and efficient. Every National Grid employee has a storm assignment, so thousands more employees are handling materials and equipment delivery, logistics, lodging and feeding arrangements for the crews, customer service, community outreach and a host of other support functions that are required for an effort of this magnitude.”