National Grid To Pay $1 Million Over Dec. Snow Storm Response
BOSTON (AP) -- The state attorney general's office has reached a $1 million agreement with National Grid to settle allegations that the utility responded poorly to a snowstorm the day after Christmas.
The storm on Dec. 26 left more than 113,000 of the utility's customers without power.
The settlement includes payments of $50,000 each to the United Way and Red Cross for their assistance in responding to the outages; reimbursement to communities for storm-related costs; and $150,000 over three years to train public safety responders to deal with electric outages and downed wires.
None of the costs will be passed on to ratepayers.
Attorney general Martha Coakley says the agreement ensures the mistakes made during the storm do not happen again.
A National Grid spokeswoman says the utility is committed to reliable service.
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