Power Restoration Underway Across Rhode Island: National Grid

RHODE ISLAND — Thousands of Rhode Islanders started off November in the dark, thanks to a powerful wind storm that swept across the state starting Halloween night. On Friday, National Grid said restoration efforts were running at full steam, with most customers expected to be back online by Saturday night.

According to Ted Kresse, National Grid spokesperson, Friday's restoration went a lot faster than that following the powerful nor'easter two weeks ago.

"Our crews have been making steady progress throughout the day," Kresse said in an email. "While there are still some strong gusts out there, the conditions are more favorable than what we faced with the storm two weeks ago."

As of Friday morning, more than 35,000 were without power. By the afternoon, that number was more than halved to approximately 16,700.

"We hope to have the large majority of customers back by tomorrow night, with many seeing their power restored before then," Kresse continued.

To help speed up the restoration process, additional line and trees crews were brought in from outside the state, he added.

Those still in the dark can check the status of their outage and see estimated restoration times using the company's interactive power outage map.

Immediately after the storm, nearly all outages were marked "assessing condition," meaning that trees, limbs or downed wires needed to be cleared before the restoration process could begin.

Drivers and residents should always assume that downed wires are live, the company said, and they should never be touched. Immediately report a downed line to National Grid by calling 800-465-1212.

Overnight, wind gusts peaked near 60 mph on Block Island, reaching 51 mph in coastal areas.

More than a dozen public schools and several private schools canceled class on Friday, most due to power outages.

• Central Falls: No school at Calcutt, Central Falls High School, Ella Risk
• Chariho Regional Public Schools: Closed Friday
• Kingston Compass School: Closed Friday
• Coventry Schools: No school at Western Coventry Elementary only
• Cumberland Public Schools: BF Norton Elementary School closed Friday, all other schools open.
• East Greenwich Public Schools: East Greenwich High School and Meadwobrook Farms School closed, all other schools have a two-hour delay.
• Foster-Glocester Schools: No school, Pre-k.
• Woonsocket Schools: Harris Elementary closed Friday.
• Johnston Public Schools: Brown Avenue School closed Friday.
• Saunderstown: Kingston Hill Academy closed Friday.
• Lincoln Public Schools: Sayles Lonsdale Central Elementary closed. Lincoln Middle School, Lincoln High School and Northern have school.
• Narragansett Public Schools: Closed Friday.
• Pawtucket Public Schools: No school at Cunningham, Slater and Greene schools due to power outages.
• Scituate Public Schools: Closed Friday.
• South Kingstown Public Schools: Closed Friday.
• Warwick Public Schools: Robertson School closed Friday.
• William M Davies Jr. Career-Tech High School (Lincoln): Closed Friday due to power outage.