Outage update: About 10,000 National Grid customers in RI still without power after bomb cyclone

Fewer than 10,000 National Grid customers in Rhode Island were without power Thursday afternoon after a bomb cyclone ripped through Southern New England Tuesday night and Wednesday, according to National Grid's website.

Power has been restored to more than 82,000 customers since about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, when more than 93,000 National Grid customers were without electricity.

The nor'easter knocked trees and tree limbs onto wires and other electric service equipment. The storm generated wind gusts of 85 mph on Block Island, 77 at Point Judith and 67 in West Warwick, according to the National Weather Service.

For some customers, the restoration could take days. However, "the vast majority of those still impacted should be restored by tomorrow evening, if not earlier," National Grid spokesman Ted Kresse said Thursday afternoon. 

The storm:Thousands without power, schools closed as storm rips through RI

The damage:Storm knocks down large tree in Warwick

He said tree and line crews are working around the clock.

"Conditions [Wednesday] were a bit challenging with the ongoing winds, but [Thursday's] weather has been pretty cooperative," Kresse said. "Crews are seeing quite an extensive amount of tree damage, including several fully uprooted trees, but no major problems in getting the work done

National Grid brought in extra crews and now says it has 3,691 workers in the field across New England. The hardest-hit National Grid customers were in eastern Massachusetts and throughout Rhode Island, the company said.

Calling the conditions "very challenging," Michael McCallan, vice president of New England Electric Operations, said in a statement, “Today we continue our focus on restoring our remaining impacted customers as safely and quickly as possible, while also working to provide more refined estimated times for restoration.” 

jperry@providencejournal.com

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