6 May 2017
Wind Storm Caused Significant Damage, External Crews Arriving to Help with Restoration Expected to Go Through Sunday
RUTLAND, Vt. – Green Mountain Power crews worked through the night to restore power to 15,000 customers following a severe wind storm that devastated many areas of the state, especially southern Vermont and the City of Rutland. Right now about 5000 remain without power and crews expect to make a lot of restoration progress today.
Crews from Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont Electric Cooperative, Burlington Electric and Stowe Electric assisted GMP crews in the restoration effort, and additional crews from Canada and New Hampshire are arriving today. More than an army of 500 lineworkers, tree trimmers and support staff are involved in restoring power.
“This storm caused extensive damage, particularly in Rutland County, and we have assembled a massive workforce to restore power as quickly and safely as possible,” said Kristin Carlson, GMP’s Vice President of External Affairs. “With all the trees and wires down, public safety and the safety of our crews is our top priority as we work to restore power. We urge people to stay away from all downed lines, even if you think it is de-energized. No downed line is safe. For your safety stay away and call GMP or 911.”
High winds caused outages in many parts of the state, knocking down large trees, breaking utility poles, and blocking roads. Crews are working across the state, and GMP expects to restore power mid-day today in areas outside Rutland County. Damage is so extensive in the Rutland area that Green Mountain Power expects restoration there to continue into Sunday. Forecasters are also calling for another round of wind to hit this afternoon which could cause new scattered outages.
“We made great progress through the night and the daylight will help us better assess the damage, including using helicopter patrols to inspect transmission lines,” said Carlson. “We will fine tune estimated restoration times as we gather more information about the full extent of the damage.”
GMP again stresses that everyone stay away from all down power lines, as they may be live and dangerous, and be aware that downed trees could have power lines tangled in them and may also be unsafe.
To get the latest information on outages and restoration times, customers can sign up for text service alerts, by texting REG to 46788 or GMPVT, or signing up online at greenmountainpower.com/textalerts. Customers can also sign up for GMP’s app to report outages with a touch of a finger at the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and search for GMP. Customers may also report outages by calling 1-888-835-4672, or visiting GMP’s Outage Center page at www.greenmountainpower.com
About Green Mountain Power
About Green Mountain Power Green Mountain Power (GMP) serves approximately 265,000 residential and business customers in Vermont and is partnering with customers 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 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. In 2014, Vote Solar named GMP a Solar Champion. More information at: www.greenmountainpower.com. Connect with GMP on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @GreenMtnPower.
Kristin Carlson
Green Mountain Power
802-229-8200
[email protected]