Hargraves: Power repairs too slow in Townsend
By Damien Fisher
Sentinel and Enterprise, December 18, 2008
TOWNSEND -- The town is getting closer to having power fully restored, according to Town Administrator Greg Barnes, but one local state representative is not pleased with the progress.
"We believe 80 percent of the town has power," Barnes said, explaining that a lag exists between what is happening in the field and what is being reported through Unitil, the utility company that handles the town.
Unitil reported last night that 75 percent of its customers had power, said Barnes. "We'd very much like to see the other 25 percent get turned on," he said.
State Rep. Robert Hargraves, R-Groton, expressed his displeasure with the progress being made by Unitil in the wake of the devastating ice storm that knocked out power to thousands in the region.
"There is a great deal of concern with the slowness in which Unitil responded," Hargraves said last night, noting that there will be a hearing on the matter by the House Ways and Means Committee when the legislative session starts in January.
Hargraves, whose district includes Townsend, said Unitil did not come into this current outage with a good reputation.
"It's not like this is new," he emphasized, citing a 1996 snowstorm that knocked out power to Unitil customers in Townsend, Fitchburg and Ashby. He said it took the utility nearly a week to get power restored to Townsend.
Hargraves said trees and limbs took out many power lines in Townsend, noting that Unitil may not be doing an adequate job in trimming the trees near power lines.
"I don't know what their vegetation program is like, but I do think it bears looking at," he emphasized.
Barnes and Hargraves have heard from many residents the last few days unhappy with the speed of the recovery.
"We're on the sixth day now," Barnes said. "We certainly understand their frustration."
Barnes explained that Unitil makes all the decisions on where to focus its resources to get power back on. He said town officials have tried to get the company to restore power to population centers first.
