Eversource 2008 Annual Report Download - page 16

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The events that began to unfold on December 11, 2008,
demonstrated our ability to respond eectively and
responsibly to a monstrous regional calamity. A severe
ice storm crippled large parts of New Hampshire and
Massachusetts. During the night of December 11, power was
knocked out to about 65 percent of PSNH’s customers and
more than 20 percent of WMECO’s customers. The ice storm
snapped tree limbs, broke or damaged more than 18,000
distribution poles, and required us to replace 166 miles of
distribution lines throughout the region.
But our biggest concern was for our customers, particularly the
more than 400,000 who lost power in the storm. Two severe
snowstorms, coupled with high winds, hit New Hampshire
almost as soon as the ice storm finished, giving our recovery
teams an even more daunting challenge.
The recovery eorts demonstrated the dedication of our
employees, who worked 16-hour days right up until Christmas
to restore service to our customers. It also illustrated the
benefit of our three-state company as hundreds of Connecticut-
based workers aided their northern colleagues to rebuild
large sections of New Hampshire and western Massachusetts
distribution systems. It marked the largest restoration eort in
PSNH history. Through it all, no major safety incidents occurred
during the multiple-day, multiple-state emergency operation.
The storms challenged us to communicate eectively with
our customers, especially those living without power. Our
new, technology-driven customer information system enabled
us to handle the avalanche of calls, many of them from New
Hampshire where the storm’s impact was fiercest. For the first
time, we took advantage of “new media,” using Twitter, a free
Internet social messaging service, to reach PSNH customers
with timely postings and podcasts.
The Edison Electric Institute recently honored NU as a winner
of the association’s “Emergency Response Award” for our
outstanding eorts to restore electric power to our customers
in the wake of this catastrophic ice storm.
responding to nature’s wrath
15