(Updated 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.) PROVIDENCE – More than 30,000 National Grid customers remain without power Wednesday afternoon, a day after an early morning thunderstorm downed trees and flooded roads throughout Rhode Island.
Earlier in the day, the utility was reporting more than 40,000 customers without power.
The National Grid power outage map shows that the most outages are in Kent County with approximately 19,000 customers affected.
Warwick has the most customers without electricity at nearly 14,000. The map shows that power is estimated to be restored in Kent County late Thursday morning.
Some areas in Newport, Providence and Washington counties also may not get power back until Thursday, according to the utility.
After the storm struck, more than 120,000 National Grid customers were without power. National Grid spokesman David Graves said the utility peaked at 107,000 customers without power for Hurricane Sandy three years ago, while the peak for Tuesday’s storm was 121,000.
National Grid said wind gusts as high as 80 miles per hour, accompanied by intense lightning and torrential rains, brought down many large trees and tree limbs that blocked roads, damaged buildings and tore down power lines. The storm affected 20 major power lines that serve 12 substations, as well as 70 main distribution lines, which are fed by the major lines and substations.
All of the major lines and substations have been re-energized, along with the majority of the 70 main distribution lines, the utility said.
“The first thing we have to do is restore the major lines and substations that are the backbone of the system, many of which are in more remote areas off the beaten path,” Timothy F. Horan, president, national Grid Rhode Island, said in a statement. “These storms were incredibly fierce and with so many trees and tree limbs down they caused extensive damage to our equipment.”
“Today crews will be repairing lines and equipment on local roads and in neighborhoods,” Horan added. “We expect the vast majority of Rhode Island customers to have power by tonight. In isolated situations, where trees or large limbs have come down on buildings or their service wire is damaged or down, repairs will take longer.”
“I want our customers to know that we are doing everything possible to restore their power as quickly and safely as possible. All of us at National Grid appreciate our customers’ patience and understanding as we work to recover from the extreme weather that took its toll yesterday.”
