HAMPTON, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 10, 2013-- Unitil Corporation (NYSE:UTL) (www.unitil.com) a provider of natural gas and electricity to customers in New England, received the 2012 Emergency Recovery Award today from the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the national association of electric utilities, for its restoration effort following Superstorm Sandy.
The electric power industry’s Emergency Recovery Award has been presented each year since 1998 to EEI member electric utility companies. The award recognizes extraordinary efforts undertaken to restore electric service following severe weather conditions or natural events. Unitil was chosen following an international nomination process. The award was presented during EEI’s winter meeting of CEOs.
“Unitil was faced with a major restoration effort following Sandy,” EEI President Ton Kuhn said. “Getting the lights back on quickly and safely is never easy following these natural disasters. It takes strong commitment, advanced planning and great execution. Unitil responded with all three. They’re a great example for the nation’s power industry. I congratulate them.”
Approximately 69,000 customer outages were reported across Unitil’s 104,000-customer electric service territory in Massachusetts and New Hampshire when Superstorm Sandy struck the eastern seaboard. Unitil had power restored to customers within 48 hours of its peak. Sandy came on the heels of two other major storms, Hurricane Irene and the October “Snowtober” Nor’easter. In those storms, Unitil restored power to customers in 36 and 72 hours, respectively. In its review of the October snowstorm, the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission referred to Unitil’s restoration efforts as a “model” for other utilities to follow.
About Unitil Corporation
Unitil Corporation provides energy for life by safely and reliably delivering natural gas and electricity in New England. We are committed to the communities we serve and to developing people, business practices and technologies that lead to dependable, more efficient energy. Unitil Corporation is a public utility holding company with operations in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Together, Unitil’s operating utilities serve approximately 101,700 electric customers and 73,700 natural gas customers. Subsidiaries include Usource, Unitil’s non-regulated business segment. For more information about our people, technologies and community involvement please visit www.unitil.com.
About the Edison Electric Institute
The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) is the association of U.S. shareholder-owned electric companies. EEI’s members serve 95 percent of the ultimate customers in the shareholder-owned segment of the industry, and represent approximately 70 percent of the U.S. electric power industry. EEI also has more than 65 International electric companies as Affiliate members, and more than 170 industry suppliers and related organizations as Associate members.
Source: Unitil Corporation
Unitil Corporation
David Chong, 603-773-6499
Investor Relations
chong@unitil.com
or
Alec O’Meara, 603-773-6404
Media Relations
omeara@unitil.com
or
Edison Electric Institute
Keith Voight, 202-508-5683
Communications Manager
