National Grid Wins Emergency Assistance & Emergency Recovery Award
Friday, June 08, 2018
National Grid has been awarded the Edison Electric Institute’s (EEI) “Emergency Assistance Award” as well as the “Emergency Recovery Award” for its power restoration efforts after Winter Storm Riley, Winter Storm Quinn and a wind and ice storms that hit Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New York in October of 2017, March of 2018 and April of 2018.
“National Grid takes great pride in its workforce and their ability to get the job done safely and efficiently for our customers. I could not be more proud of the men and women who worked so tirelessly to restore our customers power this past winter and fall. The challenging and unique conditions that these storms presented make this recognition of their hard work all the more special,” said Tim Horan, president of National Grid in Rhode Island.
National Grid received the awards during EEI’s Annual Convention in San Diego this week.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“The dedicated crews from National Grid are truly deserving of this recognition for their tremendous efforts to restore service in difficult conditions and to assist neighboring electric companies in times of need. National Grid’s restoration efforts and its assistance during these storms illustrate our industry’s unwavering commitment to serving our customers and to providing mutual assistance,” said EEI President Tom Kuhn.
National Grid Under Investigation Following Storms
Following the storm during October of 2017 that left thousands without power for days, the National Grid was under investigation in both Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
As GoLocalProv reported, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) found that National Grid failed to adequately prepare and directly contributed to a 36-hour delay in full power restoration.
SEE THE REPORT HERE
At the time, Rhode Island governor Gina Raimondo released the following statement:
"Rhode Islanders deserve better service from National Grid. I ordered this investigation in October because I saw residents in neighboring states get their power back soon after the storm ended, while Rhode Islanders had to wait days.
The delay was not because crews weren't working quickly enough, it was because Grid's management failed their customers. They failed to communicate. They failed to adapt.
To ensure that National Grid takes action on these recommendations, I've directed DPUC to require the utility to provide monthly progress reports.
Unfortunately, because of climate change, storms like the one we saw in October will continue to hit Rhode Island with more and more frequency. National Grid needs to be better prepared to weather our new climate. Shortly after this storm, National Grid asked ratepayers for a rate increase. I will do everything in my power to prevent any increase unless it includes significant investment from Grid's shareholders in modern infrastructure to reduce the number of outages in future storms and speed up restoration efforts."
The Award
The Emergency Assistance Award and Emergency Recovery Award are given to select EEI member companies to recognize their efforts to assist other electric companies’ power restoration efforts, and for their own extraordinary efforts to restore power to customers after service disruptions caused by severe weather conditions or other natural events.
The winners are chosen by a panel of judges following an international nomination process.
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