With heavy rain and high winds expected to impact New Hampshire leading into the Christmas holiday weekend, Eversource is closely monitoring several weather forecasts and planning accordingly.

The combination of soaking rain and strong winds can more easily bring down trees and tree limbs onto power lines and equipment causing outages. After restoring power to more than 121,500 customers statewide following last week’s winter storm, Eversource is patrolling the system early this week for potential trouble spots, and the energy company’s line and tree crews are preparing equipment and vehicles so they can quickly respond when and where needed. The energy company is also bringing in hundreds of outside crews to assist with restoring power if needed.

“We recognize the timing of this storm, right before Christmas and on the heels of last week’s storm, is less than ideal and we’re taking all necessary actions now so our team is ready to respond to whatever this storm may bring,” said Eversource President of Electric Operations in New Hampshire Doug Foley. “We’ll have crews prepositioned at our work centers throughout the state before the storm hits so they can immediately get to any damage locations and restore power as quickly as possible. Our employees who work in the field and behind the scenes are ready to give up their holiday time off to ensure that our customers can enjoy their Christmas weekend.”

Customers are encouraged to prepare for the storm by assembling or restocking a storm kit which should include essentials like flashlights, batteries, water, non-perishable foods, pet food and any needed medications. In addition, make sure cell phones and devices are fully charged, create an emergency plan with family members and prepare to check on elderly neighbors and friends.

Eversource reminds customers to always stay clear of downed wires and to report them immediately to 9-1-1. Be sure to report any outage online at Eversource.com, or by calling 800-662-7764. Customers who signed up for the company’s two-way texting feature can send a text to report an outage and receive outage updates as they happen.

Additional preparedness tips can be found at Eversource.com.