Wednesday, November 7, 2012
National Grid said it is ready to go with more than 500 crews in the event of power outages from Wednesday night's Nor'Easter.
National Grid, the electric utility that had hundreds of thousands of customers without power in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, said it is ready for Wednesday night’s Nor’Easter. The latest storm first moved in on Wednesday morning and is expected to last into Thursday with high winds, heavy rain and some heavy wet snow to the west and north. National Grid said it is ready to respond to any power outages that may occur as a result of the weather. There are more than 500 line and tree crews available and ready to respond to any storm-related outages, plus more than 200 “wires-down” personnel. That includes both National Grid crews and those from other companies that are assisting National Grid. The storm has also activated the company’s…
Friday, February 17, 2012
Tropical Storm Irene, Snowtober prompted bill passage.
The Massachusetts State Senate passed a bill on Thursday looking to improve utility company response during emergencies. The effects of Tropical Storm Irene and the Snowtober snowstorm were cited as part of the rationale for the bill. Those storms left Wrentham without power for an extended period of time. According to a release from State Senator Richard Ross' (R-Wrentham) office, the bill requires utility companies to update customers twice daily on estimated power restoration times. The companies must also send personnel to communicate with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and designate a liason for each community. “I am thrilled that we are taking the steps necessary to remedy the poor emergency response plans exhibited by…
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Massachusetts senators Scott Brown and John Kerry ask for review of nation's electric grid.
A number of U.S. senators, including Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), have called for a review of the nation's electric grid reliability in the wake of multiple, lengthy outages. The senators issued their call in a letter to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Wrentham has seen multi-day outages this year, following Tropical Storm Irene and the snowstorm in October. The outages, and a perceived delayed response from National Grid, caused anger at the utility company. The snowstorm left more than 672,000 customers without power in Massachusetts. Brown said in a statement that a reliable grid is important to public safety and area businesses. "This year, Hurricane Irene and the October snowstorm caused …
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Utility hearing will be held on Dec. 1 at the Attleboro High School.
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Thursday, November 17, 2011
The Department of Public Utilities will hold a public hearing in Attleboro on the performance of the utility companies after Tropical Storm Irene, according to a release from State Sen. Richard Ross' office. The hearing will be held on Dec. 1 at 7pm at the Attleboro High School. "I am pleased that DPU has provided an additional opportunity for the residents of my district to share their concerns regarding the power companies' performance," Ross said in a statment. "Given the fact that the original hearing was canceled due to power outages following a storm, it is more important than ever that DPU understand the issues faced by the communities." "These issues must be dealt with before the next storm hits the Commonwealth," he added. The …
41.94021
-71.30081
100 Rathbun Willard Dr, Attleboro, MA
/articles/public-hearing-on-utilities-response-to-irene-to-be-held-in-attleboro
/locations/5830170
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Generator would help center house seniors in outages.
Wrentham citizens voted to approve a generator for the senior center as part of a capital spending article at Monday night's Special Town Meeting. The generator is intended to keep power at the center in the event of an outage, like the ones experienced after Tropical Storm Irene and the Snowtober snowstorm. Board of Selectmen Chairman Joseph Botaish made an amendment to remove the generator from the article, saying the town was looking to address its shelter needs more fully. "We would like to get a facility to be used in the event of an overnight emergency," he said. "We're looking at converting the school to an emergency shelter." Botaish suggested the town pay to wire the center for a generator, and simply rent a generator as needed. …
42.073112
-71.329807
King Philip Regional High School
201 Franklin St, Wrentham, MA
/articles/wrentham-town-meeting-generator-for-senior-center-approved
796860
/locations/5820886
42.052108
-71.325781
Wrentham Senior Center
400 Taunton St, Wrentham, MA
/articles/wrentham-town-meeting-generator-for-senior-center-approved
1845207
/locations/5820887
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Superintendent talks about district response, shelter possibility.
Wrentham Elementary Superintendent Jeffrey Marsden recapped the district's response to the October snowstorm at Tuesday's school committee meeting. The district missed two days of school as a result of the storm. Marden said the presence of a National Grid liaison in town was helpful, but he felt more could have been done. "From my own perspective, there was not a lot of planning in terms of having crews in Massachusetts," he said. "They had crews from places like Missouri, who have to drive here." Committee Chairman Edward Goddard said he believed such issues will happen again. "Utilities are really bare-bones now," he said. "They're not going to have crews waiting around... that's why we're going to have more of these." Marsden said the …
42.062003
-71.325333
Town of Wrentham Elementary Schools
120 Taunton St, Wrentham, MA
/articles/wrentham-elementary-school-committee-hears-snowtober-response-recap
796703
/locations/5772708
Concerned Foxborough residents seek immediate change, voice concerns to National Grid representatives.
Angry and concerned Foxborough residents let their feelings be known about their displeasure over the power problems that the entire town has been experiencing over the last several months at Tuesday night's National Grid Q&A with the town's board of selectmen. "Go home tonight [National Grid] and think about those people here tonight [with troubling stories during the outage]. Its about those people who could have lost their lives due to National Grid's negligence," said Foxborough resident Deborah Stewart. National Grid's standard answer to each and every voiced concerned was, "we do not control the weather." Frustrated Foxborough residents while agreeing that they do not control the weather said that they do control the power and need …
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
The option of a Wrentham municipal utility has been suggested, but obstacles abound.
The idea of creating a municipal power utility in Wrentham has gained traction in the wake of two storms that caused prolonged outages. National Grid, which provides power to the town, announced completed restoration to Massachusetts customers on Sunday, a week after the Snowtober storm. Most of Wrentham did not have power until Wednesday, and some did not see it return until days after that. Wrentham Town Administrator William Ketcham has said the idea of a municipal utility is still out there, but said the process for doing so is difficult. "There are some issues created by the present state of Massachusetts law," he said. "There are amendments that have been introduced in the legislature [to make the establishment of municipal utilities…
42.065596
-71.329374
Wrentham Town Hall
79 South St, Wrentham, MA
/articles/a-municipal-utility-in-wrentham
796693
/locations/5755682
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Sen. Scott Brown has endorsed State Rep. Dan Winslow's power outage rebate bill.
State Rep. Daniel Winslow (R-Norfolk) is getting attention for a bill he proposed that would require utility companies to provide rebates for long power outages. Winslow said he proposed the bill after the outages caused by Tropical Storm Irene. "It would require the utilities to rebate customers two days for every one day where they went more than eight hours without power," he said. "The utilities are a monopoly — they're not subject to competitive pressures." He said this bill would incentivize companies to aggressively trim tree limbs and upgrade their power stations. Winslow pointed to the town of Princeton, Mass. as an example. He said Princeton's municipal electrical department worked aggressively after Irene devastated its lines, …
The town looks at its response to the snowstorm.
As Wrentham wraps up its recovery from the late October snowstorm, the town is looking at its response to the event. The storm, like Tropical Storm Irene before it, caused a protracted power outage in the town. It caused multiple power lines to go down, and made several roads nearly impassable with downed tree limbs. Town Administrator William Ketcham said there had been lessons learned from Irene. He said the major improvement involved communication with the utility companies. "This time, there was a utility liaison sent to Wrentham on Sunday, the day after the storm," he said. "With Irene, it was three days later." "Having a person here was a big help," he added. Ketcham said road-clearing had also improved. "All the streets were open to…
