Vermont Business Magazine Wednesday’s strong wind storm blew down trees and branches, cutting power to thousands of Green Mountain Power customers. By Thursday morning, GMP had restored power to all 12,000 customers impacted by the storm. Meanwhile,Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) field and control room staff were able to respond promptly to restore power to over 2,500 members who lost power due to strong winds that downed trees and power lines.
“Some of the towns hardest hit included Montgomery, Huntington, Starksboro, Hinesburg, Bakersfield, Underhill, and Cambridge,” said Jeff Wright, VEC Chief Operating Officer. “Our crews were prepared for a significant outage and tackled the challenges of this weather event quickly and safely. As we roll into Thursday we will be able to access and respond to the few remaining outages. We appreciate our member’s patience as we finish the restoration work.”
Members can go to VEC’s outage page for the most up to date information about outages and restoration timeswww.vermontelectric.coop/
“Early preparation before the storm hit helped assure that crews were in place across the state and could restore power quickly to all customers,” said Dorothy Schnure, GMP spokesperson.
Winds were strongest on the western part of the state, and the areas that sustained the most damage included Rutland, Royalton, St. Albans, Sunderland, Middlebury, Stamford and nearby towns.
Green Mountain Power continues to watch the weather closely, as a cold front this afternoon could bring new outages. Crews are resting now so that they will be ready for any new outages.
“After a relatively quiet summer, we are headed into a time of year when storms are more frequent,” Schnure said. “Safety is our number one priority during storms. We urge Vermonters to be ready, and always stay clear of and report downed power lines to us”
Green Mountain Power will provide updates on Facebook, Twitter and to the media. Customers may report outages and get updates through GMP’s text service, award-winning app, by calling 1-888-835-4672, or visiting GMP’s Outage Center page at www.greenmountainpower.com.
To sign up for the text service, simply text REG to 46788 or GMPVT, or sign up online at greenmountainpower.com/textalerts. Customers can sign up for GMP’s award-winning app at the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and search for GMP.