Public Service of New Hampshire

Power outages do happen. PSNH works diligently to safely and quickly restore our customers’ power when outages occur. Here are some important considerations for staying safe during an outage:

• Be attentive to severe weather warnings.
• Report a power outage online or call 1-800-662-7764 -- 24/7

Downed Power Lines

• Stay away from downed wires and trees that might have wires caught in them.
• If you’re in a vehicle and downed wires are on the car or across the road, stay in your car until emergency crews arrive to handle the energized wire(s).
• Keep your distance from any downed power line.
• Don't drive over downed lines, and if a downed line is in or near water, keep your distance from the water, even a little puddle.
• And whether a power line is down or not, don't touch anything that might be in contact with it - like a tree limb, for example.

Generators

If you’re using a back-up or emergency generator, follow these safety guidelines to ensure everyone’s safety:

• Never install a generator inside a home or in any other enclosed space—even if windows are wide open.
• Generator exhaust contains carbon monoxide, a poison you cannot see or smell. Using a generator indoors can kill you within minutes.
• Locate a generator well away from your home, making sure exhaust cannot easily enter in through windows or doorways.
• Never try to power your house by plugging a portable generator into a household outlet. This can feed electricity back into the power lines—enough to electrocute a line worker, or a neighbor on the same circuit.
• The safe way to connect a generator to your existing wiring is to have a licensed electrical contractor install a transfer switch. NOTE: When improperly installed, home generators of any size--even "small"-- can backfeed enough power onto the electrical grid where it is “stepped up” to very high voltages. 
• Using a generator improperly can be deadly to you and others. Please use the highest level of caution when operating a generator at your home.

Learn more about generator safety.

Emergency shelter

If you or your family need heat, air conditioning, power and a more comfortable place to wait out a power outage, particularly in very cold or very hot weather, you can call your local fire or police department or local Red Cross chapter to locate an emergency shelter.