Overview
Each electric company has a plan to restore service in case of an emergency event. An emergency event beyond an electric company’s control, such as a storm, that causes widespread outages. The emergency response plans are submitted each year to the DPU for review and approval.
The electric companies have procedures to handle issues arising during emergency events that could have a big impact on the public.
“Wires-down response” is implemented in the event of a down power line. The goal of these plans are to isolate and remove threats to public safety from down wires.
The electric companies also have a special protocol for handling service restoration for “critical facilities” such as hospitals and municipal emergency response organizations like police and fire stations. If there is service interruption, the electric companies prioritize restoration to critical facilities. Prioritizing critical facilities will expedite restoration of service to the region and is also done for public safety reasons.
Look up an ERP filing
To see all document filings, please visit the file room and type the case’s docket number using the following format: XX-ERP-XX, replacing the first two digits in a docket number with the relevant year’s last two digits.
Electric
| Docket | Company Name |
|---|---|
| XX-ERP-08 | Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company (Electric Division) d/b/a Unitil |
| XX-ERP-09 | Massachusetts Electric Company and Nantucket Electric Company d/b/a National Grid |
| XX-ERP-10 | NSTAR Electric Company and Western Massachusetts Electric Company d/b/a Eversource Energy |
Gas
| Docket | Company Name |
|---|---|
| XX-ERP-01 | Bay State Gas Company d/b/a Columbia Gas of Massachusetts |
| XX-ERP-02 | The Berkshire Gas Company |
| XX-ERP-03 | Blackstone Gas Company |
| XX-ERP-04 | Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company (Gas Division) d/b/a Unitil |
| XX-ERP-05 | Boston Gas Company and Colonial Gas Company d/b/a National Grid |
| XX-ERP-06 | Liberty Utilities |
| XX-ERP-07 | NSTAR Gas Company d/b/a Eversource Energy |
Regulations, statutes, and guidelines
- 220 CMR 19.00: Standards of Performance for Emergency Regulations for Emergency Preparation and Restoration of Service For Electric Distribution and Gas Companies.
- G.L. c. 164, § 85(B): Emergency response plans.
- Order Adopting Final Revised Emergency Response Guidelines for Electric Companies, D.P.U. 14-72-A