National Grid says some Rhode Islanders could be without power until the end of the week

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) – Lights are still out for many Rhode Islanders after Tropical Storm Isaias barrelled past Tuesday.

National Grid estimates that more than 140,000 customers were left in the dark at the peak of the outages around 6 p.m. Tuesday, and as of Wednesday afternoon, close to 90,000 customers have been restored.

“We saw an awful lot of damage with this storm, probably some of the fastest onset of damage we’ve seen in any recent event here in Rhode Island,” said Terry Sobolewski, President of National Grid Rhode Island.

Hundreds of crews have been working around the clock to restore power, some from out of state. More than 200 crews made up of 600 people are deployed in the state by National Grid.

“The vast majority should be restored by the end of the day tomorrow, but I really want to acknowledge the fact that there will be customers who will be without power on Friday, and we don’t rest until those last customers are taken care of.”

Sobolewski said some of the hardest-hit places were Providence and areas surrounding the capital city, like East Providence and Cranston.

“It went out about 4:15 and, you know, most of us are working from home now, and I was working from home, so I was in the middle of a Zoom meeting and everything went bye-bye,” said Riverside resident Don Gregory.

Gregory was still without power Wednesday afternoon and worried about his mom who lives with him and his wife Debbie.

“My mom has an in-law apartment upstairs, and it was tough last night because the heat rises in the building. This morning we took her down to her sister’s, which is on the water, they have power. She’s down there right now, having an iced coffee and charging her phone and checking her Facebook account!”

National Grid estimates that it will be about 72 hours until all National Grid customers in Rhode Island will have their power back on.

“We know it’s hot, people are frustrated, certainly the circumstances we’re all dealing with as a community already has us on edge, and so we understand this is a critical time for people,” Sobolewski said.

To report an outage or to see a current list of outages, click here.

© WLNE-TV 2020