Weekly Question: On a Scale of 1-10, Rate Nstar's Storm Response
We're looking for a number to help us gauge how well Nstar did (is doing) responding to Hurricane Sandy.
The pain of last year's freak October snowstorm had only just begun to fade for many Wayland residents ... and then Hurricane Sandy hit.
In October 2011, thousands of Wayland residents sat in the dark (and cold!) for days -- some for as long as a week -- after a late October snowstorm left Nstar scrambling to restore power.
Many residents this year are experiencing deja vu (without the sub-freezing temps) this year after Hurricane Sandy wiped out power lines across Wayland.
In the year between the two storms, Nstar received harsh criticism from customers, town officials and even the state Attorney General, who is seeking a nearly $10 million fine against Nstar for its failure "to adequately prepare, respond, and communicate during Tropical Storm Irene and the October 2011 snowstorm."
With Hurricane Sandy, Nstar is once again being tested and we're asking you to assign the grade on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being "A hamster could have restored power more quickly" and 10 being, "Wow, I'm inviting Nstar to my Thanksgiving dinner."
Grade Nstar in the comments section below. We'll take all the grades, average them out and offer our report card next week.
WaylandRes
9:00 am on Thursday, November 1, 2012
I would give NSTAR rate = 10. We lost power but got it back within 12 hours. Pat Scully from NSTAR called me twice after I got power back on but he wanted to doublecheck since he noticed that all my lights were off. I appreciated his call and NSTAR's responsiveness.
Brooklyn Lowery
9:19 am on Thursday, November 1, 2012
That's a pretty impressive experience, WaylandRes. Just curious, how long were you out last year? Do you remember?
WaylandRes
10:11 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
My power was out for 4 days last year.
Shogun ShenLee
10:47 am on Thursday, November 1, 2012
Shogun in Wayland
I would rate NSTAR Grade 8. We lost power 45' first, then another 10 hours. My friends in Framingham lost their power only 3 hours in total! The NSTAR Group serving in Wayland area has made good progress compared to last year, but still should restore power more quickly at this time.
Susan Koffman
11:01 am on Thursday, November 1, 2012
I give NStar a zero for service here, but high marks for service elsewhere (assuming "elsewhere" has its power back by now).
We are still without power on the western half of Sherman Bridge. I hear at least two other generators running, but I saw that neighbors on the first block of SBR had lights two nights ago. NStar has not contacted us or made any effort to explain. (Comcast called and left a robomessage on Monday, when my phone/Internet/TV service was off and on and off!)
I see no crews anywhere working on the street. Last year, we were without power for six days.
Susan Koffman
4:44 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
UPDATE: When I left the house at 12:30, no power; when I returned at 4:00, power. So Sherman Bridge is okay again.
Last year, we were without power for five VERY COLD nights and six very long days, so this year's outage was shorter. However, last year, the NStar website gave us better updates, and had estimates of when the power would be back. That helped me keep my expectations realistic. This year, the first estimate I saw was this morning, saying that the last 4% of Waylanders would likely be restored by 11PM tonight. I prefer last year's system of estimates, even if they prove to be overly optimistic, to the dead silence of this year. All that made this year better was that the outdoor (and indoor) temperature was warmer.
Wayland Resident
1:34 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
We give NStar a zero rating for our neighborhood, but a higher rating for restoring power in other parts of Wayland. We are still without power on Gregory Lane and Aqueduct Road. NStar has not contacted us. We haven't seen NStar trucks on our street. We also lost power for numerous days during both storms last year.
Rev Maddie Sifantus
3:35 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
I give them 7...mostly because it was a vast improvement over the two storms last year when were out one week both times. We were out from Monday morning to last night. Difficult part was not being able to get off our street due to the downed trees and all the wires. I hiked through the woods to get out.
Another Wayland Resident
4:50 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
I also would rate NSTAR a big fat 0. This is the 4th time in 13 months that we have lost power for over 48hours. I saw an NSTAR employee late Tues night and he laughed at me when I asked him how long he thought it would take and told me that they will fix it one day. We received no phone call throughout these last 4 days. It just got restored in the last hour but no phone call from NTSAR to inform us of anything. Purely the worst service I have ever seen from a company in my life!!!!!
Cynthia Hill
9:01 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
NStar zero....how can you leave a state road blocked from ANY access, yet restore the schools. This lasted from early Monday until Wednesday evening. Cheers go to
Mike Lowery and Chief Vinnie who really tried to do what they could.
It was my understanding that the Town had come to some kind of working relationship with NStar after last fall's weather disaster......guess that need's a "do over"!
In the four days I was moving around town, I never once saw an Nstar vehicle...those of another company yesterday opening up Rt. 126, but not one from NStar......not a call either.
Compared to last year - zero for zero!
We pay NStar - how much of this is the resident/consumer suppose to tolerate?