National Grid Receives Heat From Locals Over Snowtober

The public just can't understand why it took National Grid more than a week for power to be restored following an Oct. 29 snowstorm.

Chelmsford and Westford town officials and residents met at the Tyngsboro High School for a state-held public hearing with National Grid on Thursday evening. The meeting was specifically regarding the company’s efforts during the Oct. 29 nor’easter, dubbed “Snowtober” by locals.

The hearing was the last of five public hearings conducted by Mass DPU, or the Department of Public Utilities, as part of an investigation into National Grid’s response to the power outages.

On hand was Westford’s Town Manager Jodi Ross. The Assistant Attorney General Jim Stetson represented the office of the state’s Attorney General.

National Grid’s CEO Marcy Reed spent time before the hearing speaking to residents in attendance. Reed read a prepared statement to open the hearing, in which she outlined National Grid’s response to the power outages during the storm. She told the assembly that she was proud of the work of National Grid’s employees.

“Our employees are committed to serving our customers and worked tirelessly to restore electrical service,” she said. She also acknowledged that National Grid had learned “lessons” from the October snowstorm.

One of these lessons was the way National Grid kept towns up-to-date on repairs and power restoration. A liaison was appointed during the storm cleanup to inform towns about National Grid’s process.

“We are … looking at how we can improve our communications with our communities,” she said.

State Rep. Jim Arciero, representing the towns of Littleton, Chelmsford, and Westford, urged National Grid to work with municipal leaders to “find solutions moving forward for our state and towns.” He said that it was National Grid’s responsibility to ensure confidence in rate payers that they were doing all they could to restore power and to do it in the quickest way possible.

“I’m afraid that National Grid failed on both these counts in this particular instance,” he said.

Chelmsford Board of Selectman member Jon Kurland told the audience that in Chelmsford “priority sites,” such as town government buildings, police, schools, and fire, were often the last to receive power.

He said he couldn’t remember the last time trees were trimmed in town and disagreed with National Grid’s president, who, according to Kurland, was happy that power was restored to most homes within five days.

“To me, that is a major failure,” he said. “It’s clear to me that National Grid does not take its public trust seriously. They have been negligent at best, or indifferent at worst.”

Ross reported that Westford had 85 percent power outages for three days. She also told the assembly that 30 roads had to be closed in Westford due to downed wires and branches; Fifteen main roads remained closed for almost a week.

“I seriously do not know if there was even one crew the first couple days of the storm,” she said. Ross also took issue with the lack of updates that the town and residents received from National Grid.

“Communications that residents received from National Grid were unacceptable,” she said. “My town has no faith in National Grid.” She mentioned that Westford is exploring the possibility of switching to a different electricity provider.

Both town officials and residents of affected towns also offered suggestions as to what steps the DPU could take to ensure a better response in the future. Many suggested fines on National Grid for each infraction to its ERP, or Emergency Response Plan. Others suggested changing to buried power lines, or that the DPU force National Grid to revamp its infrastructure, ERP, and funds diverted to tree trimming.

The DPU will continue collecting evidence from National Grid and expert witnesses. The State Attorney General also plans to make recommendations after testimony from the fifth hearings are processed.

For those looking to contribute to the investigation into National Grid’s response, the DPU is accepting written statements submitted by the close of the business day, Thursday, Dec. 22.

DPU Contact:

617-305-3500

DPU.Administration@state.ma.us

dumped several feet of snow in Middlesex County and resulted in power outages that lasted for as long as 8 or 9 days in some areas. The storm was classified by National Grid as a Level 5 event, an event the company expects to occur once every 8-10 years. 

During the outage, about 420,000 customers were without power in Massachusetts, according to National Grid. 50 percent of National Grid customers saw their power restored by Tuesday, and 90 percent of customers had power restored by Friday.