Barnstable County delegation asks Eversource for town-level outage data to guide generator and resiliency efforts

Chair Killian and members of the Barnstable County delegation heard from Ronit Goldstein, an Eversource representative, on how the utility measures reliability and supports customers who depend on electricity for life-sustaining equipment.

Goldstein said Eversource scores every distribution circuit each year on metrics such as months between interruptions, numbers of customers affected and outage duration and keeps what she called a "report card" for each circuit. She told the delegation that the company prioritizes maintenance, reconductoring, substation work and selective undergrounding based on those scores and other factors such as load and the feasibility of underground construction.

The discussion was prompted by delegates’ interest in whether the county could concentrate a resilience program — for example, by helping households obtain backup generators — on areas that have more frequent outages. "I don't know that you wanna limit yourself to a particular region within the county," Goldstein said, adding that circuits often cross town lines and plans change year to year.

Delegates asked specifically about a registry for customers who rely on electricity for medical devices. Goldstein described a life-support customer program that requires medical certification: "If someone relies on electricity for life sustaining purposes, like oxygen, home dialysis, they have to get a doctor's note." She said the utility sends outbound messages to those customers and if outreach fails the company contacts each town's single point of contact (typically police or fire) to request a wellness check.

Goldstein agreed to provide the delegation with the reliability data and the criteria for the life-support list. "I can ask our system planners and our distribution engineers to provide me with some data," she said. Chair Killian asked that the information be sent to Clerk Fletcher for distribution to the delegation.

Delegates also raised how private, developer-installed buried lines complicate upgrades; Goldstein said towns that passed special legislation can use betterments to bring private systems up to standards before a utility assumes ownership. She noted that undergrounding is expensive and that many outage causes — including animals contacting equipment and vehicle strikes on poles — are not eliminated by burying lines.

Goldstein said Eversource offers limited community grants to 501(c)(3) organizations (typically $500–$2,500) and is exploring resiliency-focused education efforts with local chambers and climate organizations. The delegation agreed to follow up as Goldstein delivers the requested data and program criteria.