Poll: Should Utility Companies Rebate Customers for Power Outages?

A Massachusetts legislator wants customers to get paid when they don't have power.

A Massachusetts legislator is urging passage of a new law that would force utility companies to rebate customers when there are extended outages. State Rep. Daniel Winslow (R-Norfolk, MA) has asked the Massachusetts House Rules Committee to take action on a power outage rebate bill. According to a release from Winslow's office reported on Wrentham Patch, the bill would require rebates to customers who go without power for more than eight hours. The rebate would be for two days of their average bill for each day the customer is without power. The move is prompted by the Halloween weekend storm that knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers throughout Massachusetts, just two months after Tropical Storm Irene knocked out power …

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Portsmouth Living

Aftermath of Irene Leaves Christina In The Dark

Christina tries to figure out why people are complaining about the loss of electricity.

It’s been a week since Hurricane Irene set her scope on us and made a last-minute cut to the west. We were so lucky that not only did Hurricane Irene get downgraded to a tropical storm after she hit Coney Island, but that she changed course just a little more and turned inland.  While my thoughts and prayers are with the people in Vermont, I am thankful we were spared the brunt of the storm.  There were some trees and branches down and we didn’t get much of the rain they called for. Overall, things could have been much worse.  Which is why I have to say I’m disappointed with the general post-storm attitude.  In Portsmouth and across the state, I feel like we are forgetting how lucky we were and focusing on the fact we lost power for a …

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Portsmouth Police Urge Residents to Stay Off Roads Tonight

All traffic lights in town will remain without power tonight. Police are urging residents to stay off the roads.

Portsmouth police are urging residents to remain off the roads tonight as a major power outage continues throughout Aquidneck Island.  As of 5 p.m. Sunday, more than 37,800 people remained without power in Newport County. A total of 9,033 residents in Portsmouth remained without electricity with only two people at the Portsmouth Middle School emergency shelter.  As the sun sets, Portsmouth police are asking residents to remain home and out of harm's way.  "The police will keep additional personnel on the road," said Capt. Mike Cranson of the Portsmouth Fire Department. "They are urging people to stay off the roads."  The town of Portsmouth is also waiting to see if the governor will continue the state of emergency.  Anyone, who is seeking …

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Bristol Man Arrested for Allegedly Placing Beer Can Inside Bar's Electrical Meter

Edward Francis, 33, of Bristol, was arrested in connection with a 2010 incident at the Island Tap Bar. Francis allegedly tampered with the bar's electrical meter not once, but twice.

Edward Francis has quite the electrical experience after allegedly tampering with a local bar's electrical meter not once, but twice. State Police arrested Francis, 33, of Bristol, on Friday afternoon in connection with a 2010 incident at the Island Tap bar on Park Avenue. Francis has been charged with vandalism, interference with an electrical meter and providing false information to 911. The arrest stemmed from an incident on May 18, 2010, at around 10 p.m., when police received a report of no electrical service at the Island Tap. A bartender told police he received a call from a man, who stated the bar had no electrical power and then allegedly called the bartender a "derogatory name," according to police. Upon arrival, police …

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Power Outage, Cold Causes Portsmouth Wind Turbine to Stop Spinning Sunday

A power outage early Sunday morning resulted in 1,100 National Grid service interruptions and the Portsmouth wind turbine generator going "off the grid."

A power outage early Sunday morning resulted in 1,100 service interruptions for National Grid customers and the Portsmouth wind turbine to stop spinning. Several residents reported waking up Sunday morning to freezing temperatures in their homes, the result which appeared to have been a loss of power sometime overnight. On Monday, National Grid spokesman David Graves said a power outage occurred Sunday morning at approximately 4 a.m. "The original outage occurred when a wire came down on East Main Road," Graves said. "It was on pole No. 451 in the area of Chase Road and Park Avenue." What caused the wire to come down is unknown at this time, said the National Grid spokesperson. National Grid was required to temporarily disconnect power to …

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Joe Sousa.

6:34 pm on Sunday, February 13, 2011

Just drove by ,still turning.   more ›

More than 2,000 National Grid Customers Lose Power in Portsmouth

More than 2,000 National Grid customers in Portsmouth, as well as on Prudence Island, lose electricity Tuesday afternoon.

More than 2,000 National Grid customers lost electricity late Tuesday afternoon before the pending winter storm even arrived. According to a National Grid spokeswoman, about 2,100 customers lost power at 3:42 p.m. The residences without power were located on the west side of the island, near West Main Road, as well as on Prudence Island. Prior to the outage, both Portsmouth police and fire were on the scene of a car crash and transformer fire on West Main Road. "Just after 3:40, a car hit a pole at Freeborn Street and West Main Road," National Grid spokeswoman Amy Zorich said. "We hope to get power back to the majority of customers at about 4:40. The remainder of customers should be back by 5:30 p.m." The outage affected residences on the …

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Brief Blackout Leaves Town in Darkness Thursday

Lights throughout Portsmouth went out Thursday evening for about 15 minutes, according to witnesses.

The entire town, as well as National Grid customers in Middletown and Newport, were engulfed in darkness momentarily on Thursday evening. From Island Park to The Glen, street lights, residential homes and busy restaurants, such as Fieldstones, remained in darkness for about 15 minutes, according to an employee of the restaurant on East Main Road. Power was restored to customers just before 7:40 p.m. Customers were only affected for "a minute" before electricity was turned back on, according to National Grid spokesperson Jackie Barry. It is unknown at this time how many customers were affected by the outage. The outage was likely caused by a breaker on Dexter Street, according to National Grid. "We had a problem in our substation on Dexter …

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Masonic Lodge Cancels Christmas Dinner

An annual Christmas tradition will not go on as planned this year partly due to the March floods.

The March floods are still putting a damper on local activities, including one Christmas tradition. Every year, members of the St. John Lodge in Portsmouth volunteer their time and funds to provide a free Christmas dinner for the community. This year, partly due to the March floods, the tradition will not go on as planned. "Right now, Christmas dinner is not happening," said lodge brother Bill Ramey of Portsmouth, who has been organizing the annual tradition since 1991. According to Ramey, the flooding in March caused damage to the masonic lodge's headquarters on Sprague Street. "We had a flooding issue," he said. "When we did the major renovations, we decide to upgrade our kitchen. We wanted to switch from an electric stove to gas for …

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Squirrel Causes Power Outage near Lawton Valley Reservoir

National Grid crews are working to restore electric power to 128 customers this afternoon in the area near Lawton Valley Reservoir off West Main Road.

Approximately 128 National Grid customers were without electric power on Monday morning in neighborhoods off West Main Road near the Lawton Valley Reservoir. Crews are currently on scene and working to restore power to those customers. The company hopes to restore power to homes by this afternoon, said Amy Zorich, National Grid spokesperson. "We have sent crews out and they are working on the problem right now," Zorich said. "Our priority is to restore power to those customers as soon as possible, but also for the safety of our crews." The power outage affected electricity at the subdivisions near Rolling Hill Road, including the Bay View Estates townhouses. The outage was caused by a squirrel walking on the power lines, according to …

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Firefighters Respond to Minor Gas Leak at Island Park

Portsmouth Fire Department responds to natural gas leak at corner of Morgan and Liberty Street Wednesday morning. National Grid has fixed the source of the leak and will monitor area.

Members of the Portsmouth Fire Department responded to a report of a gas leak Wednesday morning at the corner of Morgan and Liberty Street in Island Park. A resident had reported the smell of gas and left a message on the Department of Public Works' voicemail instead of calling police or fire. Firefighters responded to the area and located the source of the leak—a broken valve at the corner of Liberty and Morgan Street. National Grid also responded and was able to fix the valve, stopping the leak of natural gas. Firefighters also checked a dozen houses to make sure natural gas wasn't leaking from these residences. No evacuations were necessary, said Fire Chief Jeffrey P. Lynch. National Grid will continue to monitor the area, according to …

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