National Grid to Provide Power Restoration Updates by Wednesday

Shortly after noon Tuesday in Marlborough, 4,000 homes remained without power because of Hurricane Sandy, according to a representative from National Grid.

The utility is now completing assessments of the affected areas. Once those assessments are finished—a process expected to be completed early Wednesday morning—individual outages will be assigned specific time frames for restoration. Restoration estimates could come tonight.

Marcy Reed, president of National Grid in Massachusetts, in a conference call with media said until the assessments are completed, she couldn't say how long it will take for power to be completely restored. Once the assessments are done, the utility will share the information through media and on its website.

Priority for power restoration went to public safety complexes and hospitals. Overnight, National Grid restored power to eight hospitals in the state that lost power, she said.

National Grid has 2,400 people working in Massachusetts to restore power Tuesday, and good weather has allowed crews to make progress, the utility reported in the conference call.

The crews are working 16 hours on - 8 hours off and will continue until all customers are restored.

At its peak, Hurricane Sandy power losses totaled 237,000 customers in Massachusetts. The number as of 3 p.m. without power: 163,000.

The number of homes without power is about 12 percent of the National Grid residential customers in Grafton.

The website for outages and area information can be found here.

In New England, report power outages by calling toll-free at 1-800-465-1212 or by logging on to the website www.nationalgridus.com and clicking on the Outage Central page.

National Grid also advises:

• Refrain from calling 911 except for emergency situations 

• Consider all down wires to be live, keep away, and report them to National Grid immediately 

• Never use a generator indoors, always disconnect the main breaker when the generator is operating and be sure to read and follow all of the manufacturer’s operating and safety instructions 

• If your cellar floods, keep out of standing water 

• Check on elderly family members, neighbors and others who may need assistance during an outage period. 

• Call 211 for shelter information and other important storm help information.