After Powerful Weekend Storm, NHEC Expects Restoration by Monday

by | Dec 18, 2022 | Outage, Uncategorized

PLYMOUTH, NH (12/18/22; 11 a.m.) – New Hampshire Electric Cooperative (NHEC) line crews, with help from tree and line crews across the region, have worked around-the-clock to restore power to more than 15,000 members since a damaging storm dropped more than a foot of heavy, wet snow on the state. As of 11 a.m. on Sunday, December 18, approximately 1,700 NHEC members remained without power in more than 40 towns.

With the exception of some small, scattered outages, NHEC expects to be fully restored by 10 p.m. on Monday, December 19.

Outages peaked on the NHEC system at 4 a.m. on the morning of December 17, 2022. By that time, trees and branches had caused damage to power lines in more than 200 locations, knocking out power to 16,582 members. After making good progress restoring the largest outages on Saturday, crews are spending Sunday and Monday restoring smaller taps and service lines. It’s a labor-intensive process that will continue until power is restored to all NHEC members.

“We appreciate the continued patience of our members as we deal with the aftermath of this challenging storm,” said NHEC Director of Operations Joshua Mazzei. “The damage caused by this storm was extensive and statewide. We salute the lineworkers and support teams that have worked nonstop to get the lights back on for the people we serve. Their skill and dedication have resulted in the safe restoration of power to thousands of members. We expect further progress today and remain confident that we will be substantially restored by Monday night.”

As crews work to repair damage in more than 100 locations today, Estimated Times of Restoration (ETORs) for remaining outages will be updated on the live outage map on NHEC’s website: https://www.nhec.com/outage-dashboard/

Full Restoration Expected Tonight from March 29 Wind Storm

by | Mar 30, 2021 | Outage, Uncategorized

PLYMOUTH, NH (9 A.M.) – After a productive overnight, NHEC and contract line crews have restored power to another 5,000 members. Just under 2,400 members remain without power at the time of this update, down from a peak of 16,000 at noon yesterday.

Work is continuing today and will focus on the Raymond area and the Lakes Region, where nearly all remaining outages are located. We expect to be fully restored by tonight, with the exception of locations that are still inaccessible or require further repair by the property owner.

Please be safe in areas with recent line and tree work – don’t go near a downed wire, or a fallen tree that’s in contact with one! Report unsafe electrical conditions: 1.800.343.6432.

Multi-day Recovery Expected from March 29 Wind Storm

by | Mar 29, 2021 | Outage, Uncategorized

PLYMOUTH, NH (2 P.M.) – As the NHEC electric system continues to take damage due to high winds, line crews are focused today on public safety and damage assessment.

More than 250 outages have been reported since daybreak (3/29) and fallen trees have closed many NH roads, including major highways like Route 101 in the Raymond area. Joined by cutting crews from several tree service companies, line crews have been responding to multiple calls to open roads and make sure damage scenes are free of electrical hazards.

This will likely be a multi-day restoration effort. Dozens of additional out-of-state line crews are arriving today to assist. Restoration times for current outages will not be determined in most cases until overnight or tomorrow (3/30). Winds are expected to peak this afternoon and die down overnight, giving crews the opportunity to focus on rebuilding the damaged system.

Unfortunately, if you are without power at this time, you should expect to remain without power overnight. Please report outages to 1.800.343.6432.

 

Pilot Project Aims to Reduce Outage Times

Pilot Project Aims to Reduce Outage Times

by | Nov 16, 2020 | Outage, Uncategorized

An electrical device on power lines and poles.

Using technology like this Viper recloser, NHEC is reducing the time it takes to restore power.

With the application of advanced engineering and communication technologies in the field, NHEC is reducing the time it takes to restore power outages.

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, or SCADA, is making it possible for an employee in our Plymouth Control Center to safely do in a few minutes what would normally take a lineworker an hour or more to do in the field.

NHEC has long had the ability to remotely monitor and control the flow of power within its 45 substations, but a pilot project underway this year is providing that same control on smaller circuits outside the substations, where the majority of outages occur.

In practical terms, that means the NHEC Control Center, working with field crews on the scene, will be able to refeed entire circuits that have lost power with a few mouse clicks. The manual process of refeeding circuits can be a time-consuming task for a line crew. But by utilizing  SCADA to support lineworkers on the ground, outage times can be reduced significantly.

A key part of NHEC’s SCADA project is an investment in a variety of ‘recloser’ technologies. Like a circuit breaker on household electric lines, reclosers shut off electric power when trouble occurs, such as a short circuit. Reclosers also allow power to flow if the interruption is temporary, like a branch that brushes a line when it falls. NHEC is installing a variety of recloser technologies in the field that will respond to automated processes activated by employees from our Control Center. The result – shorter outage times and increased reliability for members.