CRANSTON, R.I. -- National Grid says it expects to restore electricity to nearly all of its Rhode Island customers by 11:45 p.m. Friday.
The number of individual power failures caused by Monday's storm was reduced to 4,508 as of 4:37 p.m., down from the 122,000 customers who were without power early Tuesday morning.
The utility acknowledges there may be a "handful of scattered, isolated outages" in severely hit areas where work may go into Saturday or where a property owner will have to make repairs.
The company said it restored natural gas service to all customers in Newport and Westerly where it is physically possible to do so. A continued problem spot is a part of the Misquamicut Beach area, where the company is working with state and local officials to develop a plan for reconstructing streets destroyed by flooding and wind.
"While the vast majority of our Rhode Island customers will have their service restored today, we want our customers in Westerly to know that we are here for them and we will not rest until everyone has electricity and gas," said Rhode Island National Grid president Tim Horan.
By Richard C. Dujardin