GMP has restored power to nearly all its customers following one of the most difficult and lingering storms in its history. By Tuesday morning, GMP had restored power to more than 130,000 customers from last week’s storm, which continues to cause small outages across the state. GMP, Vermont Electric Cooperative and Washington Electric Cooperative were down to just over 400 combined outages. GMP crews numbered over 1,000 strong at the peak and worked round the clock and through the weekend restoring power, clearing trees and making repairs to infrastructure.
“We are so grateful to our customers for their support and understanding during this incredible storm. We know how hard this has been for those who were without power and even heat for an extended period,” said Mary Powell, President and Chief Executive of Green Mountain Power. “A storm like this is hard on everyone. But what I am most thankful for is the attention to safety by our customers, employees and contractors and the fact that we had no serious injuries or accidents while we responded to outages and made repairs.”
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Green Mountain Power’s response to this storm was at a level never before seen. GMP brought in crews from Canada, New York and every New England state and had more than 1000 lineworkers and tree trimmers as well as hundreds of GMP support staff spread out across Vermont restoring power. Crews went door-to-door in the hardest hit areas checking on Vermonters, offering water and sharing information. GMP also deployed its sophisticated communications strategy using text and e-mail alerts, Facebook and twitter as well as the media to get information, including safety announcements to the public. Keeping the public informed was a key element of their work during the nearly week-long storm.
“Our dedicated employees and advanced planning effort were important factors in our being able to keep up with this unprecedented storm,” said Powell. “Nearly everyone in the company was involved in the restoration effort, from assessing damage, to ordering enough rooms and meals for the 1,500 people working outdoors, to calling more than 8,000 customers, to knocking on doors in the towns with the most damage. What makes Vermont such a great place is that even through this challenge, we received so much support and encouragement from all these interactions, giving us the energy and motivation to continue.”
GMP cautioned that snow remaining on trees is expected to continue to cause outages over the next several days, but GMP crews are standing ready to respond to any new outages. GMP wants to remind the public that safety is the number one priority. Stay clear of downed power lines and report outages to 888-835-4672.
Source: GMP. www.vtoutages.org