Getting Answers: frequent power outages in East Longmeadow neighborhood

EAST LONGMEADOW, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - A viewer reached out to our newsroom expressing frustrations over ongoing power outages in their East Longmeadow neighborhood.

She said it has happened more frequently, most recently this past weekend, and that there is often no reason explaining why.

“It seems to have just gotten worse lately with the frequency and the number of outages that we’ve had,” said Lynn Bolton of East Longmeadow.

Bolton has lived in East Longmeadow on Tanglewood Drive for over a decade. She reached out to Western Mass News to get answers, telling us that since she moved in, there have been power outages on the road every summer and she does not know why.

“According to National Grid, we have underground wiring in our neighborhood,” Bolton told us. “We were one of the first neighborhoods, I believe, in East Longmeadow to get that wiring which means it is all on one loop, our neighborhood. So, if one part of that goes out, the whole neighborhood goes out.”

When we stopped by the neighborhood on Monday afternoon, we did find National Grid utility workers working in the area.

Bolton told us about 60 houses are in the Tanglewood Drive neighborhood, and the last time the power went out was this past Sunday. She said that National Grid did not give a reason for the outage.

“You can’t get anybody to tell you what the problem is, really, when the power will be back on, things like that,” she said. “When it goes out on a hot day like yesterday, when it’s 93-95 degrees with 70 dew point, then it becomes really difficult for some of the elderly people in our neighborhood. We have people with small children, pets.”

Western Mass News is getting answers from the East Longmeadow Town Manager Mary McNally. She told us in a statement in part, quote:

“The utility company, National Grid, is aware there is a problem with the service in that area. They are seeking authority to update the service in the area and are looking to schedule a public hearing to do so. The town of East Longmeadow apologizes for any inconvenience to residents about the power outage especially under the recent weather circumstances.”

Bolton told us that she hopes to see better communication in the future.

“I just think National Grid needs to have better communications when this happens, especially since I feel like they know it’s a frequent problem in our neighborhood,” Bolton said.

National Grid has also responded to our request for comment. Senior Program Manager Michael Dalo told us in a statement, in part:

“National Grid has been working toward a cable replacement project for this neighborhood for some time. The company is partnering with local officials to advance the needed approvals to resolve this effort as quickly as possible.”

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