Update: 25,000 Electric Customers Still Without Power In New Hampshire

CONCORD, NH — Utility companies and their workers as well as general service employees and others, are working to restore power to tens of thousands in New Hampshire after some parts of the state received as much as 18 inches of snow during the first major snowstorm of the 2022-2023 fall-winter season.

More than 66,000 customers were without power — with state officials from emergency management monitoring the efforts.

At around 9 p.m., state officials said around 25,000 remained without power.

“Many people have been without power most of the day Saturday or possibly longer,” Robert Buxton, the director of the New Hampshire Department of Safety’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said. “It is critical that residents and visitors practice power outage safety until crews can restore the utility lines. Never run a generator indoors. Stay away from downed power lines and call 911 if you see one.”

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The department partially activated its State Emergency Operations Center just before 9 a.m.

Eversource, the state’s largest utility company, reported more than 49,000 customers without power at the height of the storm. About 18,000 remained without power around 9 p.m.

“We are still taking on system damage in parts of the state where heavy, wet snow continues to fall, and hundreds of additional crews are coming to New Hampshire to support our restoration effort,” Eversource President of Electric Operations in New Hampshire Doug Foley said. “One of the biggest challenges is dealing with impassable, snow-covered roads, which prevents us from getting into areas where we need to assess damage and make repairs. We thank our customers for their continued patience as our crews deal with those difficult road conditions, and our dedicated employees will work around-the-clock and as quickly as safely possible until power is fully restored across the state.”

No restoration times were available.

New Hampshire Electric Co-op reported more than 12,500 of its customers without power Saturday morning, mainly in the North Country and Lakes Region. By 9 p.m., about 5,000 were still without power.

More than 5,000 Liberty Utilities customers were also without power Saturday morning — including major outages in Canaan, Hanover, and Lebanon with restoration times of around 7 p.m. on Saturday. At 9 p.m., more than 900 remain without power.

Buxton made the following safety recommendations to residents without power.

• Visit ReadyNH.gov to learn more about keeping safe during emergencies.
• Stay informed by signing up for NH Alerts and monitoring National Weather Service radio or broadcast weather reports.
• If you encounter a downed power line, stay away and call 9-1-1.
• Drivers are reminded to use extra caution, go slow and be alert for crews clearing debris and treating the roads.
• Use flashlights, rather than candles, for emergency lighting.
• Do not use a gas range or oven as an alternate source of heat.
• Only use a generator that has been wired to the house electrical service by a professional electrician.
• Never run a generator inside a building or in an enclosed space.

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