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About 90,000 Customers Still Without Power In NH

NASHUA, N.H. (CBS/AP) — Three nights after a potent snowstorm, tens of thousands in the Granite State were still without power.

At peak, more than 200,000 homes and businesses were without electricity after the Wednesday night storm, the fourth largest outage in state history.

That number was down to about 86,000 by Friday evening.

Utility companies have tripled their crews, with teams coming in from as far away as New Brunswick, Canada and Tennessee.

"We have about 30 trucks. We're possibly going to be here 2-3 days," said Eric LeBlanc of New Brunswick.

Public Service of New Hampshire reported most of the outages, most affecting the southern part of the state.

Unitil had a few thousand, most in the Concord area. It expected to have power restored to most customers by the end of the day.

New Hampshire Electric Co-Op reported thousands more still without power.

"Did not expect it to be this bad. Thought it was just going to be another snow storm coming through," said Matt Allan of Billerica, who missed Thanksgiving with his family to be here.

With temperatures in the teens Friday night, Gov. Maggie Hassan urged those without electricity or heat to seek shelter.

"This is really too cold a night to be without power," Hassan said.

Officials say they hope to have power fully restored by Monday.  Hassan said authorities are looking into one death that may be related to the storm.

Temperatures were expected to get down to the teens and single digits Friday night. Shelters were opened in Nashua, Allenstown, Londonderry, Campton, Laconia, Rochester and Franklin. Warming centers were opened in Auburn, Farmington, Manchester and Winchester.

Watch: WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports from Nashua

(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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