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30 November 2018

New Storm System Forecasted for Already Hard Hit Areas as GMP Crews Make Significant Progress Restoring Power for Customers

More Than 100,000 Customers Restored So Far, Hundreds of Lineworkers Making Repairs in Central and Southern Vermont

30 November 2019

COLCHESTER, Vt. – Winter is here in full force and is prepared to hit us again with another storm forecasted for Saturday. Green Mountain Power crews have been out all week and so far, restored power to more than 100,000 customers. Crews are on track to finish restorations tomorrow, just as forecasters say a new storm system will hit Vermont. GMP is preparing for the possibility of new outages starting Saturday night. The storm is expected to bring wet snow, freezing rain and ice to already hard-hit areas of central and southern Vermont. “We want customers to know that another round of outages is possible if this storm plays out the way forecasters predict, and we are keeping our army of out-of-state crews here to help us respond,” said Mary Powell, GMP’s president and CEO. “We know customers have had a long week already. Our crews are working as hard as they can, and will not stop until power is back on for all customers, no matter how long it takes.” GMP is urging customers to plan ahead for possible outages. The company has opened its district offices in Bethel, Brattleboro, Sunderland and Springfield to customers who need food, a place to charge their phone, WiFi, or a warm place and state emergency officials have shelters open. Some impacted towns, Vermont Emergency Management, and the American Red Cross are assessing the need for shelters in areas experiencing extended power outages.  GMP is providing those entities with projected restoration times to aid in that assessment. State emergency officials say overnight shelters are open in these locations:

  • Barre Municipal Auditorium: 16 Auditorium Hill, opening at 6 p.m. People may bring pets to this shelter. Local officials request that people enter through the double glass doors to the right of the main granite stairway and take the elevator to the basement. People are asked to park by the stairway rather than in the rear of the building.
  • Hartford High School:37 Highland Avenue, opening at 6 p.m. People may bring pets to this shelter.
  • Rochester Elementary School:222 Main Street, opened at 3 p.m.

A complete list of standby shelters along with warming centers, which are open during the daytime, is available at the Vermont Emergency Management website, https://vem.vermont.gov. Individuals also can call 2-1-1 to find an overnight shelter or a warming center, or to report their current needs. That information is shared with Vermont Emergency Management to help determine the areas of greatest need for warming or overnight accommodations. GMP is also reminding customers to be safe.

  • If you don’t have power and can’t be safe in your home, you can reach out to 211 for shelters in your area.
  • Stay away from downed lines and downed trees, they can be hidden by snow.
  • Watch out for power and emergency crews who will be working with large vehicles in narrow, snow-loaded roadways.

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 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 was the only utility named to Fast Company’s 2018 list of Most Innovative Companies for Energy and 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 rankings also put GMP among top utilities for customer satisfaction.

Kristin Kelly, Green Mountain Power
(802) 318-0872
[email protected]

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