Hurricane Sandy Update from National Grid

Hurricane Sandy Update

While Hurricane Sandy's direction may not be predictable, we are certain that it's a storm of long duration with high winds, heavy rain, and tidal surges. New England is expecting Sandy's maximum impact from 8pm tonight through 2am Tuesday morning, at which point the storm is forecasted to continue northwest into New York.

Given this unprecedented situation, extended power outages should be expected. National Grid is acting and has thousands of resources working in preparation for storm restoration. National Grid crews as well as supplemental line and tree crews from 31 US states and 2 Canadian provinces are ready to tackle power outages. If you lose power, you can report it online by going to www.nationalgrid.com/HurricaneSandy or by calling 1-800-465-1212 in New England and 1-800-867-5222 in New York.

For your safety, please pay close attention to the following safety tips and contact information:

• Do not drive in hurricane conditions.
• If you see a downed power line or wire, always assume it is live; do not go near it and never drive over it. Call 1-800-465-1212 in New England to report downed wires and 1-800-867-5222 in Upstate New York
• If you have natural gas service and you smell or have a gas emergency, report it immediately at these numbers:
• Metro NY:
  1-718-643-4050
• Upstate NY:
  1-800-892-2345
• Greater Boston area:
  1-800-233-5325
• All other MA areas:
  1-800-548-8000
• Rhode Island:
  1-800-640-1595
• If you are in immediate assistance of shelter information, visit  http://www.redcross.org/.

Adhere to Federal, State and Local officials guidance regarding evacuations. If you are unable to evacuate, follow these guidelines:

• Stay indoors during the hurricane and away from windows and glass doors.

• Close all interior doors - secure and brace external doors.

• Keep curtains and blinds closed. Do not be fooled if there is a lull; it could be the eye of the storm - winds will pick up again.
• Take refuge in a small interior room, closet, or hallway on the lowest level.
• Lie on the floor under a table or another sturdy object. It is also good practice to keep cell phone calls for emergencies only in the aftermath of the storm. Use email or text messages if possible so as not to overload the cell systems.

For more safety information, please visit www.nationalgrid.com/HurricaneSandy.

Stay informed:

• National Grid provides you with multiple ways to receive up-to-date information on things like restoration details, more safety tips, important phone numbers and more.
• Text Alerts: Sign up for National Grid state-level broadcast text* alerts by texting the word STORM to NGRID (64743). You can opt out of receiving text messages at any time by texting the word STOP to NGRID (64743).
• Mobile Website: You can now get safety and outage information on your mobile phone when you use it to visit www.nationalgrid.com. 
• Social Media: We also keep customers informed on Facebook and Twitter. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for up-to-date information.
  

We are working tirelessly to proactively respond to Sandy. We urge our customers to continue to take safety precautions during the storm.