Power Restoration Could Take Days
BOSTON (CBS/AP) — More than 400,000 homes and businesses across Massachusetts remained without power Monday following an October nor'easter, and it could be days before all are back on line.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports from MEMA HQ:
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At a morning news conference, Gov. Deval Patrick said the utility companies' response to the storm was 'unprecedented' in size, with about 1,470 crews on the ground. More are expected from around the country in the next two days.
Photos: October Snow Storm
The governor believes about half the state's homes and businesses without power would be restored by the end of the day but many may not get relief before the end of the week.
ESTIMATED RESTORATION TIMES: National Grid (.pdf) | NSTAR (.pdf)
Patrick said he will request federal disaster assistance from President Obama Monday afternoon.
The storm that dropped about two feet of snow in some areas late Saturday into Sunday forced dozens of school closures on Monday, and prompted some communities to either postpone or cancel Halloween trick or treating.
National Grid reported more than 280,000 customers still without power as of 9 p.m., with Central Massachusetts the hardest hit.
Western Massachusetts Electric Co. still had about 109,000 without power with near blackout conditions in Agawam, Easthampton and Greenfield.
NStar was down to about 32,000 outages, with the Framingham, Waltham and Walpole areas the hardest hit.
Unitil had more than 8,000 customers without power.
WBZ-TV's Christina Hager reports from Worcester:
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe reports from Southboro:
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WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Bernice Corpuz reports from Billerica:
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If you're wondering when power will return to your home or business, you should call your utility directly.
Patrick said about 1,300 people spent the night in shelters across the state.
Patrick also confirmed one death officially related to the storm - a man electrocuted in Springfield. He said two others - an elderly woman who was killed in a fire in Lunenberg and a man who died from carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator in Hatfield - may be storm-related.
(TM and © Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
