What caused the recent Eversource outage affecting thousands in Massachusetts? An overnight storm with strong winds led to widespread power disruptions, leaving more than 53,000 homes and businesses without electricity as of 8 a.m. on March 17, 2026.
The outages peaked at nearly 65,000 at 6 a.m., with Eversource reporting over 10,000 customers without power, primarily in Falmouth. National Grid also faced significant challenges, with more than 41,000 customers losing electricity, particularly on the North and South Shore and in Worcester County.
Peak wind gusts reached 81 miles per hour at the Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory in Milton, contributing to the damage. A falling tree in Norwell brought down a power line, which started to spark in a yard, highlighting the dangers posed by the storm.
In Leicester, 33% of National Grid customers are without power, while Millville reports 44% and Ayer 32%. These figures illustrate the extensive impact of the storm across various communities.
Utility companies had anticipated the storm’s arrival. National Grid pre-staged crews to restore power ahead of the severe weather, demonstrating their preparedness. Christopher Laird, a spokesperson for National Grid, stated, “We’ve been tracking this storm for several days and our crews and contractors are fully prepared to respond and support customers should outages occur.”
As the situation develops, Eversource and National Grid are working diligently to address the outages. Shane Gokey from Eversource remarked, “We’re just addressing them as they come in, obviously. We can’t do too much because there’s utility infrastructure involved right now.”
Details remain unconfirmed regarding the full extent of the damage and the timeline for power restoration. Utility crews continue to assess the situation and restore power as conditions allow.
