Rhode Island Energy (RIE) announced this afternoon that it has successfully restored power to 25,000 customers statewide following the heavy rain and high winds that began early Wednesday and persist in some regions.
As of 1:30 p.m. EST, only 100 customers remain without power, and crews are working to restore service as quickly and safely as possible.
“Power restoration efforts begin long before the storm, and success is built on the strength of your plan,” said Greg Cornett, president of Rhode Island Energy. “Our response plan doesn’t end until the last light is on.”
In preparation for the storm, RIE preemptively mobilized over 1,400 personnel, including 180 additional tree and line crews, who were strategically stationed across the state to speed up response times.
The storm brought challenging weather conditions including more than four inches of rain in some portions of the state, and wind gusts over 70 miles per hour. Work continues today and crews are closely monitoring conditions with the expectation that high winds could lead to additional downed trees, branches and power lines.
RIE urges customers to stay away from all downed wires, assume they are energized, and report them promptly by calling 911.
Customers can also help make our restoration efforts quicker by reporting outages as they see them. If you see an outage, you can:
- Report it online at RIEnergy.com/outage
- Text OUTAGE to RIEMSG (743674) to report an outage
- Text STATUS to RIEMSG (743674) to check on the status of your outage
- Call our Contact Center at 1-855-743-1101
