Damaging Storm Slams Vermont With High Water, Strong Winds: GMP Restores Power to More Than 71,800 Customer, 25,800 Without
Green Mountain Power Joined Vermont Utilities and Governor Phil Scott Urging Safety During Statewide Cleanup
COLCHESTER, Vt. – Green Mountain Power (GMP) joined Vermont Electric Co-op, Washington Electric Co-op and Governor Phil Scott in alerting customers about hazardous conditions left by the damaging storm that hit Vermont Thursday night and continues today. Communities across the state are dealing with flooding, washed out roads and downed powerlines as a result of heavy rain and strong winds. GMP crews have been working around the clock and restored power to more than 51,000 customers so far, but new outages are being reported as the strong winds continue to rip down trees and lines. With so much damage it will take days to restore power to everyone.
“We have flooded roads and downed wires throughout the state so we are urging all Vermonters to be vigilant and stay safe. Drivers or pedestrians should never drive or walk over a flooded road. There could be unseen washouts or currents that can sweep you or your car away,” said Gov. Phil Scott at a safety briefing at Vermont Emergency Management headquarters with utility leaders this afternoon. He also said that swift water rescue teams had already been called to help multiple people facing rising water.
GMP crews spent much of the day removing trees and lines from roadways to make them safe and passable, with damage in every district GMP serves. GMP had brought in about 100 line workers from out of state in advance of the storm and they are working statewide. Crews themselves were also slowed down by flooded and washed out roads, in some cases having to back track and find alternate routes to get to outage calls.
“Our number one priority is the safety of our customers and our employees and we urge everyone to stay away from downed powerlines and downed trees. Due to conditions in the field we expect this to be a multi-day restoration effort into next week,” said Mari McClure, Green Mountain Power’s incoming President and CEO at the safety briefing for reporters in Waterbury. “On the minds and hearts of everyone at Green Mountain Power is to get power restored as quickly and as safely as possible for our customers.”
For information about shelters available statewide, you can call 211.
For more GMP storm safety tips, and to sign up for text alerts visit the Safety Guide
Report outages and track restoration times in GMP’s online Outage Center
About Green Mountain Power
Green Mountain Power (GMP) serves approximately 265,000 residential and business customers in Vermont and is partnering with them to improve lives and transform communities. GMP is focused on a new way of doing business to meet the needs of customers with integrated energy services that help people use less energy and save money, while continuing to generate clean, cost-effective and reliable power in Vermont. GMP earned a spot on Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in the World list three years in a row (2017, 2018, 2019). GMP is the first utility in the world to get a B Corp certification, meeting rigorous social, environmental, accountability and transparency standards and committing to use business as a force for good. J.D. Power’s 2018 and 2019 rankings put GMP among top utilities for customer satisfaction. In 2019, GMP was named “One of the Best Places To Work in Vermont” by Vermont Business Magazine and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, and was the winner of the Deane C. Davis Outstanding Vermont Business of the Year Award.
Kristin Kelly, Green Mountain Power
(802) 318-0872
[email protected]