WORCESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - People who live in a neighborhood in Worcester said they have been left in the dark again and again, sometimes for an entire day, since the day after Thanksgiving.
“Either five minutes at a time, 10 hours at a time, 17, and all the way up to 24,” said Luca Webb, who lives in the neighborhood.
National Grid said a failed underground cable is to blame for the outages. The company parked a generator behind a home on Plantation Street, which they called a “temporary fix.”
People who live in the area say the generator is not working, and their power continues to go out.
Webb said the outages can be dangerous for his health.
“I could not do my breathing treatments because we did not have power for 24 hours, and because I could not take my nebulizer I had to go to the emergency room,” he said.
National Grid said replacing the cable requires permits and property access. It said the generators provide power 24 hours a day for seven days a week, but when they are swapped out, there are 15 minute outages. The generators are swapped out approximately every two and a half weeks.
However those that live in the neighborhood say that’s not the case.
“It happens more often,” said one resident. “I called three days ago. It was off for about an hour. Last week about four hours. It’s different every time.”
In a statement, National Grid wrote to 7NEWS, “National Grid’s top priority is delivering energy safely, reliably, and affordably for our customers, and we understand how disruptive any interruption in service can be.”
After dealing with the outages for an extended period of time, Webb said he has little faith it will be fixed.
“Nope, I have no hopes until it is fixed,” he said.
National Grid said it expects the work to be done Saturday if all goes to plan.
(Copyright (c) 2025 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)