Energy Central-News Article

Thousands are without power in Massachusetts as a snow storm hits the commonwealth.

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency reported there were more than 24,000 customers without power as of 6:53 a.m. Tuesday.

The majority of the power outages were in Western Massachusetts and the Berkshires, including Becket, Goshen, Shelburne and Clarksburg. However, other areas, such as Medford and Westminster, are also seeing power outages.

Winter storm warnings have been issued until 8 a.m. Wednesday across the commonwealth.

Heavy, wet snow is expected, including in areas still seeing rain Tuesday morning. Worcester, Framingham and other Central Massachusetts cities and towns could get 4 to 12 inches of snow with winds gusting as high as 60 mph. Amherst, Northampton and Springfield could get up to 9 inches of snow with winds gusting as high as 45 mph.

“The weight of the heavy wet snow on tree branches will likely result in power outages,” the National Weather Service warned.

Energy companies Eversource, National Grid and UNITIL all notified their customers Monday that they were mobilizing in preparation for the nor’easter heading toward New England.

Eversource emailed customers stating it brought in out-of-state crews to help in any potential effort to restore power.

Customers were asked to report any outage online at Eversource.com or by calling 800-592-2000 in Eastern Massachusetts or 877-659-6326 in Western Massachusetts. Customers who signed up for the company’s two-way texting feature can send a text to report an outage and receive outage updates as they happen.

National Grid’s website stated it was “securing more than 1,000 field-based crews and over 3,000 personnel as part of the company’s emergency response operations,” including overhead line, forestry, contractors, underground, damage assessment, wires down, transmission and substation workers.

National Grid customers can get outage alerts by texting REG to 64743. Once registered, text OUT to 64743 to report any outages or STAT to check the status of an outage. Users can also report outages online or call 1-800-465-1212. Call that same number or 911 immediately if you encounter a downed line, National Grid said.

Bay State residents can also monitor power outages by visiting the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency’s outage map.