Groton Electric warns rolling blackouts could be coming this winter

GROTON - Groton Electric Light Department is warning customers to expect rolling blackouts this winter.

The company sent a letter to customers saying the electric grid is deteriorating. "If we experience rolling blackouts, there will be times when the transmission lines to our substation will NOT be energized. That means there is nothing that GELD will be able to do to provide electricity other than petition the regional transmission owners for the shortest possible duration without electricity," the company said.

GELD also said the "baseload generation has shut down in New England," adding that the closing of coal, oil and nuclear plants, as well as dropping diesel refinery capacity, has created energy deficits.

"In the recent past, we had fuel diversity in our electric generation which is not available today," GELD said

The company said the blackouts should not last for more than four hours. The company is advising customers to fill their oil tanks and get generators ready for the winter.

The CEO of Eversource has also said he's worried a lack of natural gas will make the electrical grid less reliable.