Londonderry News

By 4:15 PM on December 21, 2008, around 1,795 PSNH customers in Londonderry were still without power. More than 800 of those customers were without power because the connection from the main line to their house had been lost. Throughout the state, power had been restored to almost 95% of customers who had lost it due to the Ice Storm on December 11. There was still an estimated 16,000 in New Hampshire without power.

There was more than 1,200 crews working in New Hampshire. Dozens of these crews were now located in Londonderry. They included line, tree, pole diggers, and service crews. The service crews were from PSNH and focused on the connections from houses to main power lines that were lost. The crews in southern New Hampshire focused mainly on the large circuits and power lines first. If it was possible and could be done efficiently, they would then turn their attention to the smaller lines in the area they were working in.

Residents were warned if their lights seemed brighter than usual or were flickering, they should contact PSNH as soon as possible. “There may be an open neutral on the system,” was the explanation given at the time. They were also asking residents to call if they did not have power but their neighbors did, as it could be the connection to the house. One reader, commenting on a damaged line to his house, wrote, “I would strongly suggest you shut off your main breaker until PSNH confirms your line is attached properly. I was activated with a damaged line and the surge of power has caused damaged to some items in my home…..I quickly shut off the main breaker……Most likely that surge would have caused a fire.”

A Nor’easter was expected to move into the area that afternoon. PSNH, although trained to work in all weather conditions, was concerned that the strong winds and heavy snow would slow efforts. The concern for additional power outages and damage to power lines was another issue. There was already reportedly a few extra power outages due to the storm that had hit earlier that day. Residents were urged to stay off the roads, as there was fear that car accidents could potentially damage telephone poles, thus knocking out power to more.

Please feel free to leave your comments with your memories of this day.

If you’d like to read the articles from one year ago, follow these links:

Day 10 Londonderry with Power Includes live audio of the Press Conference the previous day and a link to an article published in the Derry News. Click to find out what was talked about at the Press Conference. This article was commented on 38 times, much of the comments being a debate about whether school should be open the next day and when the residents would find out.

Town of Londonderry Update on the Storm A short update regarding the power outages and shelter information. Find out what the update was.

Londonderry Still has 1,795 without power! Includes an update from PSNH and complete listing of towns and the number of customers without power in each town. Also lists towns and their percentage of achieved restoration. Click to find out where your town stood. Includes 13 comments, most debating the opening of schools the following day.