99.9 Percent Of Tiverton, Little Compton Residents Lose Power

As of 11 p.m. on Monday night, National Grid's power outage map showed 99.9 percent of all Tiverton and Little Compton customers were without electricity.

The blackouts progressed rapidly after about 5:30 p.m. as high tide rolled in and winds from Hurricane Sandy peaked along the East Bay region.

At 4:30 p.m. Patch reported about 2,300 customers were in the dark, a mere 21 percent of the regions 10,697 customers.

Six hours later, 8,135 of 8,138 Tiverton customers and 2,557 of 2,559 Little Compton customers were without power.

National Grid reported repair crews will have to take a renewed stab at restoring power across Rhode Island tomorrow morning after the worst of the storm has passed. 

Charlotte McCormack, spokesperson for National Grid, said that crews were taken in hours ago after winds reached speeds greater than 30 mph. Crews have been focused on any work that could be done without putting staff up in the utility's bucket trucks, "specifically for safety reasons," McCormack said. 

She said according to reports, the damage was caused by downed wires and branches. In the morning, once winds have subsided, crews will go back out and work to restore power once the utility has assessed the situation. 

In an attempt to avoid the prolonged outages after Hurricane Irene in 2011, National Grid mobilized additional crews and engaged in preplanning with contractors who typically assist with restoration after outages.

Representatives from National Grid were on scene at Tiverton's Emergency Operations Center, located at the North Tiverton Fire Station. Here they were able to collaborate with local emergency management personnel to prioritize restoration actions.

"National Grid has invested tens of millions of dollars in strengthening its New England electric distribution infrastructure in the past year," the company said in a recent press release. "The company has also implemented new procedures based on lessons learned from the storms that devastated the area in 2011. As always, the company’s primary mission is safety."

Do you have power? Has your electricity been restored? Tell us in the comments below.