State Investigating National Grid's Response To Christmas Stroll Power Outage

With the economic losses from the Christmas Stroll power outage still being calculated by island businesses, the state Department of Public Utilities announced Wednesday that it had launched an investigation into National Grid's response to the downtown blackout.

"The Department will evaluate whether this outage and National Grid’s response complied with its obligations," under Massachusetts' regulations and standards for utility providers, Department of Public Utilities (DPU) chair James M. Van Nostrand wrote in a letter to National Grid New England president Lisa S. Wieland. "In addition, the Department will assess whether National Grid prepared appropriately for this contingency, given the constraints of serving Nantucket Island and the significance of this event to the Nantucket economy."

The outage persisted for roughly 27 hours - from 10:20 a.m. on Saturday through 1:30 p.m. on Sunday - before power was restored. National Grid identified the problem as two sections of underground electric cable that failed and needed to be replaced, requiring the utility company to send specialized crews and equipment to Nantucket by ferry late Saturday night and early Sunday morning. But by the time the lights came back on, a weekend that is typically one of the most profitable of the year for downtown businesses had been wiped out.

As of Wednesday evening, the estimated losses associated with the power outage stood at $1.3 million, according to the Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce, which circulated a survey to the affected businesses. That number is expected to climb as more businesses respond to the survey.

The DPU has the authority to penalize an electric company for its failure to meet the standards for service quality, and the department made it clear on Wednesday that it is evaluating National Grid’s response to the outage and will determine the course of action to take against the company.

Read the full letter below: