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BOSTON, Mass. — Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is seeking a $16 million fine against National Grid, alleging the power company failed to adequately prepare for and respond to Hurricane Irene and the October 2011 snowstorm.
“Combined, these two storms left nearly a million National Grid customers without power, some for more than a week,” Coakley said in a news release. “National Grid’s preparation for these storms was inadequate and its response was unacceptable. The company compounded these mistakes with a lack of communication to municipalities and first responders about restoration efforts, leaving many of them in the dark as they were making critical decisions around public safety and emergency treatment.”
The pair of storms knocked out power to homes across Central Massachusetts for days. Hurricane Irene, which was downgraded to a tropical storm as it made landfall in Massachusetts, left downed power lines and trees in its wake, delaying the start of school in most towns. The pre-Halloween snowstorm repeated the problems.
The attorney general's office filed a brief with the Department of Public Utilities, which has the authority to impose the fine. The brief alleges National Grid officials violated four separate storm response obligations under its own emergency response plan:
- Failing to communicate effectively with customers and municipalities throughout the two major storms;
- Failing to provide timely damage assessments;
- Failing to properly staff for the two emergency events;
- Failing to respond to public safety calls about downed wires.
The attorney general's office is requesting $4.6 million in fines for the company's response to Irene and $11.7 million for its response to the October 2011 snowstorm.
If granted, the penalties cannot be passed on to National Grid customers and must be borne by shareholders, Coakley said. Under current law, the penalties would be paid to the Commonwealth’s general fund. Coakley has supported pending legislation that would ensure that penalties ordered by DPU would be returned to customers, rather than the general fund.
“The customers suffer from the utilities’ poor performance and outages, and it is the customers who should receive the restitution as well,” Coakley said.
According to the brief, National Grid did not respond to emergency calls about downed wires within a reasonable amount of time partly due to inadequate staffing levels as officials were hesitant to classify either storm as a level five event. A level five event affects more than 113,000 customers and lasts longer than 72 hours. Company officials testified that they do not use computer models or tables to predict a storm’s severity and instead rely on the experience of top-level officials.
During Tropical Storm Irene, electric distribution companies along the East Coast requested an additional 7,000 personnel, but National Grid received only 24 as other utility companies had already contracted the available extra workers from mutual assistance and other resources. The brief alleges that if National Grid had used more scientific methods of predicting storms than merely relying on personal experience, it may have gained a greater level of assistance.
There were approximately 13,000 downed wires during Irene, and approximately 22,000 downed wires during the October 2011 snowstorm, the brief notes.
Comments (8)
I personally hope they do get fined. Even if the fine does not go to the customers, there should be something payen out for the MUTITUDE of the people uprooted as well as the people such as myself who could not go to shelters ect. I have 2 special needs boys which prevented me from seeking out a shelter and we all selpt in the living room together with a no heat whatsoever for 3 days before the lines on our place were fixed. Hubby and I stock up on food at BJ's and problably lost 3-4 hundren dollars in frozed and refrigerated food regardless of burying as much as possible in the snow. We cooked (if you could call it that in the cold) on our grill outside, froze inside with NO heat, and have 2 special needs children which prevented up from seeking out a shelter. In total, with ordered in food, buying what we needed to get through the cold and loosing the food we stocked up from BJ's. the storm probably cost us over 600 dollars, and we were one of the lucky ones who got our power back after only 3 days instead of a week like most, and the only reason for that is because out line attaches to the main road. NG should be held responsible even if the customers don't get a penny. You don't need to STAFF the extra help, you need to call them from unaffected communities/states, and given the forcasts, NG shoud have had the forethought to do so, Period.
Electric utilities are a regulated industry in Massachusetts. Did Martha fine any of the politically appointed regulators for their insufficient oversight?
It amasses me that people today cannot think beyond the end of their noses. Yes, National Grid could hire more people to repair lines for ANY unforseen future emergency, but at WHAT COST PEOPLE? Come ON, THINK! Will they need 100, 200, 500 more employees to sit around waiting for the next ice storm or wind storm? How about the salaries and benefits for all these new employees, have you thought about HOW National Grid will get the money to pay this enormous increase to their bottom line? Did the light just go ON in your heads? YES, an increase in our monthly bills forever, for storms that happen very infrequently. Have these people thought about buying a GENERATOR for their homes and businesses? Of course not!! You can buy a 5 KW generator today for less than $800 , half the cost of a refrigerator!!! What will it cost you if you lose a freezer full of food? Do the math people, get a generator and stop the damn whinning, get back to what Americans due best, take care of yourselves because no one else can do it better.
National Grid is going to fork over $16Million. The money goes to a general government fund. The money does not go to staff and equipment. How does this fix the problem?
I apologize : I meant "Princeton and Holden"
Anyone remember Deember 2008 ? I seem to recall the towns of Princeton Jane Holden, both of whom have municipal power companies, had many areas of their respective towns without power for in excess of 13-14 days straight.
Where was Martha Coakley on that one?
It seems to me the only targets of her vilification are in the dreaded "private sector"
Proof positive that this all has,far more to do with politics than it does true protection of the consumer.
It's amazing how power restoration experts like Coakley always have a response AFTER the fact and never beforehand. Martha should resign for not bringing this to light before the storm. I was without power for 3 days and lost $200 worth of food, but ya know what? I'm still luckier than many people in the world.
No. Put the $16Million back into National Grid with the mandatory purpose of either: (1) adding staff and equipment to handle snow emergencies,
or (2) start putting all wires underground, in a cooperative effort with the other wire users: phone and cable. $16Million should put a few miles of wires underground. It won't do all the miles necessary, but it is a start.