NSTAR Crews Responding to Early Damage and Power Outages

Company Urges Caution for Downed Lines and Stresses Generator Safety

The following is a press release sent by NSTAR at 2:30 p.m.: As Hurricane Sandy began to impact Massachusetts late this morningNSTAR crews and contractors began their response to outages across the region. The company is bracingfor significant damage and power outages as the storm moves across the area. In advance of the storm’s arrival, the company opened its emergency operations center this morning andstaffed its regional work centers across the state. Approximately 1,200 contract personnel from as faraway as Texas and the Midwest are assisting NSTAR’s 3,000 employees in their efforts. These crews arealready hard at work and will remain at the ready as the storm progresses. NSTAR’s call center is fully staffed and ready to field customer…

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NSTAR Buyout Under Negotiations

Connecticut company Northeast Utilities is interested in purchasing NSTAR, and regulators have set a hearing to go over the details.

Northeast Utilities, parent company of Connecticut Light & Power, will convene next Friday in New Britain, CT, to talk about aquiring NStar according to a story on WBUR. Northeast Utilities is expected to pay $4.9 billion for NSTAR, and if they succeed, they will become the largest electric company in New England. The company also has a bad track record when it comes to handling power outages,  an editorial in the Norwich Bulletin explains. The good news is if Northeast Utilities aquires NSTAR, customers will get a "two-and-a-half-year freeze on distribution rates on customers’ bills — an estimated $120 million benefit to customers" as well as "a $300 million investment by the utility [Northeast Utilities] in infrastructure improvements" …

Poll: Should NSTAR Reimburse Businesses For Blackout Losses?

NSTAR is saying they won't compensate businesses for revenue lost during the blackout, but restaurateurs and Mayor Menino think NSTAR should. Where do you stand?

“If it’s a normal situation, we do not typically, when there is an outage, provide for losses," NSTAR official Thomas May told the Boston Globe. If the Back Bay fire and blackout seemed abnormal to you, NSTAR spokeswoman Caroline Pretyman clarified with the Globe that, "A normal outage includes those caused by mechanical failure, such as this week’s disruption, and even severe weather such as snowstorms and hurricanes."   To Mayor Menino and others, however, this wasn't just business-as-usual.  Menino "has demanded that the utility reimburse restaurants for spoiled food, pay restaurant workers for lost wages, and cover more than $85,000 in overtime costs for police and other city employees."   Irakli Gogitidze, manager of Bottega …

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NStar Says It Won't Pay For Blackout Business Losses

Mayor Menino said the company should pay small businesses for their losses.