Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The contract agreement should avoid service interruptions that were possible when workers threatened to strike.
After weeks of negotiations, National Grid and members of UWUA Local 369 have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract, the union announced yesterday. The new contract will go up for a vote on May 20. "National Grid entered into negotiations demanding drastic increases in healthcare costs and failing to address critical staffing needs, which are so crucial to public safety and adequate storm response," the union said in a release. "Through these ongoing negotiations and with the assistance of a federal mediator, we believe we have reached an agreement that provides important protections for our hardworking men and women and the communities that we serve." The union authorized a vote to strike at the end of April and the contract …
Monday, April 22, 2013
More than 50 employees are scheduled to work at four local sites beginning at 9 am.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
National Grid estimates it had solved nearly two-thirds of all the outages in Bristol and Warren by 4:45 pm on Feb. 10.
The number of households remaining without power in Bristol and Warren fell to just more than 5,000 on Sunday afternoon, and National Grid officials said full power could be restored as early as tonight. According to the utility company's Outage Central website, 5,195 customers were without electricity as of 4:45 pm Sunday, down from the 13,000 reported earlier Sunday. National Grid President Tim Horan said in a statement released Sunday afternoon that the company's crews could not begin the work of restoring power until 9 pm Saturday night because of the conditions of local roads. “We deeply appreciate the tremendous patience and support shown by our Rhode Island customers,” Horan said. “During the day on Sunday and continuing into …
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
About 35 customers in Bristol are without gas service after a gas pipe is damaged on Woodlawn Avenue.
About 35 National Grid customers are without gas service today after a gas main was ruptured at Woodlawn and Metacom avenues. A road work crew accidentally ruptured a 4-inch gas line while performing other work around 10 a.m. today, according to National Grid spokesman David Graves. The gas ventd into the atmosphere and never posed any danger to residents or businesses in the area, Graves said. However, about 35 customers in the area are temporarily without gas. "The site is secure now and we will be restoring power to customers this afternoon and this evening," Graves said. Some customers will have to wait until later in the evening to regain gas service. Customers must be home at the time service is restored. National Grid employees …
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Strong winds - potentially exceeding 50 mph - and heavy rains are forecasted for tonight. National Grid offers electricity safety tips in the event of damage.
- BUSINESS
-
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
As customers across New England hunker down for what is forecasted to be an extremely windy night, National Grid crews and support personnel are prepping in the event strong winds cause damage to the region’s electrical network. High wind watches and warnings have been issued for overnight across the region, with predictions of strong and possibly damaging winds in many areas, combined with potentially heavy rain. As a result, National Grid crews and support staff have been put on alert and are prepared to respond in the event of service interruptions. “Our first priority is always the safety of the public, our customers, and our employees,” said Kathy Lyford, National Grid vice president of electric operations in New England. “We have …
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
The first of three hearings seeking public comment on the proposed hikes is scheduled for Wednesday in Narragansett. The closest to Bristol and Warren will be in Newport Sept. 19.
National Grid is seeking to raise RI rates on electricity and gas, and a series of public comment sessions begins tonight in Narragansett. For National Grid Electric, the proposed rates will increase the company’s annual operating revenue by approximately $31.4 million, or 3.8 percent. The bill impact for a typical electric residential customer using 500 kWh per month would be a monthly increase of $3.97 or 5.1 percent, from $78.05 to 82.02. The bill impact on electric commercial and industrial customers will range from an increase of -0.1 percent to an increase of approximately 6.7 percent. A small part of the electricity rate hike, said Thomas F. Kogut, spokesman for the RI Division of Public Utilities and Carriers, will help National …
Monday, June 25, 2012
Two substations — one in Barrington — are down in Rhode Island, but Bristol and Warren appear to be mostly spared so far.
Monday's thunderstorms have left 14,000 customers across the state without power and has knocked out two substations, according to the Providence Journal. National Grid is still trying to determine the severity of the damage to the two substations — one in Johnston and another in Barrington. The former of the two serves a large section of Providence. Earlier Monday morning, the State House was evacuated after a power surge set off a fire alarm. The hardest hit area is Barrington, with 4,700 of the town's 6,810 customers without power. In Providence, 4,265 are powerless with another 1,943 in Johnston and 1,864 in North Providence. Bristol and Warren have mostly avoided losing power, though National Grid reported about 50 outages in Warren…
Friday, December 2, 2011
A National Grid leader says the company will be more active in trimming trees around electrical wires, if towns give them permission.
After a litany of speakers criticized National Grid's preparation for Tropical Storm Irene and the Halloween weekend storm Thursday night, the president of National Grid Massachusetts said her company would get more aggressive at trimming trees, if towns let them. National Grid Massachusetts President Marcy Reed said to the audience during a public hearing: "Last year new legislation passed, which allows us to present an annual tree-trimming plan to a town or city's tree warden. If the tree warden approves the plan, we can then go into the town and do our work without the need to attend weekly meetings and talk about particular areas of concern." How do you feel? Should National Grid get more aggressive at cutting back trees located near …
Thursday, November 3, 2011
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 …
Govstench
9:48 pm on Sunday, February 10, 2013
NGrid gained much ground with the restoration of the two transmission lines feeding the East Bay. more ›