NSTAR Receives 2012 Emergency Assistance Award

NSTAR is receiving national honors for its successful efforts to assist other utilities in the massive restoration following Superstorm Sandy. The Edison Electric Institute’s (EEI) Emergency Assistance Award was presented today to Northeast Utilities (NU), NSTAR’s parent company, in recognition of the extraordinary work by NSTAR and other NU crews to restore electric service to areas that had been disrupted by the devastating weather conditions.

Close to 400,000 NSTAR customers lost service due to the powerful Superstorm at the end of October. Once restoration work for their own customers was completed, NSTAR crew members joined other Northeast Utilities employees in working around-the-clock to assist in the massive rebuilding and power restoration efforts in New York and New Jersey.

“Assisting fellow utility workers and their customers, whether they’re across the country or across state lines, is a long-standing tradition for which our employees enthusiastically volunteer,” said Werner Schweiger, President of NSTAR Electric. “Just as we’ve been assisted by others in the past, NSTAR workers stepped up when asked, leaving their families behind for nearly two weeks to help those most affected by Superstorm Sandy.”

“NSTAR’s restoration assistance following Hurricane Sandy was truly remarkable,” said EEI President Tom Kuhn. “Getting the lights back on quickly and safely following a major storm is never easy. Working through the industry’s mutual assistance program, NSTAR crews were essential in helping their fellow utility companies restore service in affected neighborhoods. Importantly, the work of NSTAR crew members also shows their compassion in helping others in their time of need. I congratulate them.”

Along with sending its own workers to hard-hit states, NSTAR also joined fellow Northeast Utilities companies in sending a total of approximately 1,900 private line contractors who were previously assisting NU’s repair efforts throughout Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut.

The electric power industry’s Emergency Assistance Award has been presented each year to EEI member electric utility companies since 1998. The award recognizes extraordinary efforts undertaken in restoring electric service to another utility company that has been disrupted by severe weather conditions or other natural events.

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