PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- National Grid has unveiled some new tools that company leaders say will help it respond better to power outages caused by hurricanes, blizzard and other extreme weather.
At a media briefing at its Providence offices on Thursday, National Grid executives showed off a digital mapping program that will allow damage assessment crews to report back from the field in real time with updates on toppled poles or downed lines. The program replaces a paper-based system that could only be updated at the end of each day.
National Grid has also developed a computer model with help from the Massachusetts Insitute of Technology that will help it predict damage based on past storm data.
"One of the key underlying points here is being prepared as much as we can," said Timothy F. Horan, the president of National Grid's Rhode Island operations. "We're very confident we can tackle any storm."