News Release
On Anniversary of Devastating October Snowstorm, WMECo Highlights System Improvements and
Enhanced Communication for Upcoming Storm Season
Springfield, Mass (October 24, 2012) – As the anniversary of last October’s major nor'easter approaches, Western Massachusetts Electric Company is reaffirming its readiness for the next big storm. Since last fall, the company has enhanced vegetation trimming and removal on its rights-of-way and added advanced automation to reinforce the electric grid; revised its information sharing procedures with cities and towns; and installed web-based tools for improved two-way communication with customers.
“WMECo’s electric grid sustained significant damage during last fall’s nor’easter, with more than 140,000 customers losing power as a direct result of the storm,” said Peter Clarke, President of WMECo. “Though no utility can guarantee a storm free of outages, our efforts over the past year have made our transmission system less susceptible to tree damage and will allow us to more closely coordinate our restoration progress with communities and better communicate with customers.”
Reaching out to local emergency responders to discuss what worked well and what can be improved is an important part of WMECo’s post-storm assessment. During meetings with every community after the nor’easter, company representatives clearly understood the need for improved coordination and communication with first responders, as well as enhanced communication with customers. The company’s response has been swift and significant.
Community officials in the WMECo service area now have exclusive access to a web-based portal providing key information about the status of critical facilities within their respective cities and towns, as well as up-to-date outage and restoration information. Designated community liaisons and a real-time emergency reporting tool will further improve communication with local officials.
Customers, government officials and the media can now view an