With hurricane season for 2025 underway, Connecticut public power utility Norwich Public Utilities on July 7 said it has completed extensive efforts to prepare for severe weather that could impact utility services for its customers in the weeks and months ahead.
“Preparing for extreme weather is among our most important responsibilities as a public utility,” said Chris LaRose, General Manager of NPU. “We know that our community is counting on NPU to respond safely, quickly, and professionally in the event of an emergency; the first step in any effective response is to be prepared.”
Ahead of any major storm, NPU confirms that it has the appropriate materials, equipment, and personnel in place to respond to an emergency; in some instances, NPU may pre-stage vehicles and equipment across the city to allow for a more immediate response to large-scale emergencies.
NPU collaborates with city officials and other community partners such as Norwich’s Volunteer Fire Departments, Uncas Health, Hartford Heathcare, Red Cross, and American Ambulance Services in response to major events. This type of experience and teamwork supports an effective and efficient response to a storm, it noted.
Over the past several weeks, NPU’s annual pre-hurricane season preparations have been reviewed and confirmed, including:
• Tree trimming – Throughout the year, NPU line crews and two contractors tree crews work on tree trimming and removing heavy vegetation, especially vine growth in targeted areas.
• Contractor crews – NPU has confirmed the availability of additional contractor tree crews who are assigned to the utility; additional assistance will be secured by NPU if necessary.
• Mutual aid - NPU has mutual aid agreements with the Northeast Public Power Association and the American Public Power Association. If a storm is localized to lower New England, crews from other NEPPA members will be able to send line crews to assist with restoration efforts in Norwich. If a storm is more wide-reaching and impacts most of New England, crews from the APPA mutual aid network would make crews from other parts of the country available to assist.
NPU also utilizes two important technologies to provide regular updates to the public before and during a major storm:
- The Outage Map on the NPU website provides customers with a snapshot of outages across the city. The map updates every ten minutes and displays clusters of customers out of service, not individual homes or businesses. If a customer sees that an outage is impacting their neighborhood on the outage map, a call to NPU’s Customer Service Center will not be necessary.
- NPU will also use its ‘robo-call’ system, CodeRed, if it needs to make automated calls to customers to provide updates on outages, progress with restoration, and important safety messages. NPU is encouraging customers to confirm that NPU has the most up-to-date phone numbers for these notifications.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s outlook for the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30, predicts a 30% chance of a near-normal season, a 60% chance of an above-normal season, and a 10% chance of a below- normal season.
