New Hampshire Power Outages: Who to Call, Why They Happen, and How to Get Ready
When a power outage in New Hampshire hits, your first question is usually a practical one: whose lines run past your house? The state has four main electric companies plus a handful of town-run systems, and each keeps its own outage map. This guide gives you a quick lookup table for your utility and a short history of the storms that did the most damage. (The December 2008 ice storm alone left more than 400,000 customers in the dark.) You'll also find a section on river and Seacoast flooding and a simple backup power plan.
Who to Contact During New Hampshire Power Outages
New Hampshire has no single power company, so the right outage map depends on your town and sometimes your street. The utility name printed on your electric bill tells you which map to open. No bill handy? The NH Department of Energy's Utilities by Location list shows which company serves each town.
If you see a downed line or anything dangerous, call 911 first and stay well back. Then report it to your utility.
New Hampshire electric utilities and outage channels (checked October 6, 2026)
Utility (as it appears on your bill) | Where to see outages | How to report |
Eversource (Public Service Company of New Hampshire, doing business as Eversource Energy) | Through Eversource's outage pages or app | |
Unitil (Unitil Energy Systems) | Report online, or call 1-888-301-7700 | |
Liberty (Liberty Utilities (Granite State Electric)) | Call 1-855-327-7758 (Liberty lists this number under "Emergencies") | |
New Hampshire Electric Cooperative (NHEC) | SmartHub app (NHEC calls it the fastest way), text OUT to 855-960-3075, or call (855) 960-3075 | |
Municipal electric departments (Ashland, Littleton, New Hampton, Wolfeboro, Woodsville) | No shared map | Contact your town's electric department directly |
Third-party trackers that combine every utility into one statewide view are handy for the big picture. For a restoration estimate on your street, though, your own utility's map is the one to trust.
The state's emergency agency, NH HSEM, points residents to ReadyNH.gov for outage safety. For emergency alerts, sign up for NH Alerts.
Eversource is the state's largest utility. If you're a customer, our guide to reading the Eversource outage map explains its restoration updates.
Knowing which map to open handles the first ten minutes. State storm records show why some outages here last a week or more.
Why the Power Goes Out in New Hampshire: Ice, Wet Snow, and Wind
Most long New Hampshire outages start with trees. Ice, heavy wet snow, and wind bring limbs and whole trees down onto lines. In a state this wooded, a lot of line runs through forest. NOAA tracks billion-dollar weather disasters across the country. From 1980 through 2024, 21 of them hit New Hampshire, and 11 were winter storms.
The December 2008 Ice Storm
The storm hit on December 11 to 12, 2008. It left "more than 400,000 electric customers without power, some for a matter of hours and some for up to two weeks," according to the Public Utilities Commission's review. The same report counts 432,000 of the state's 685,000 electric meters without power. Outages reached 211 of its 256 municipalities and land grants.
The PUC called it "the most damaging ice storm in recent New Hampshire history." The cause was trees: "Uprooted trees and fallen limbs were commonplace throughout the storm footprint, bringing down power lines and utility poles."
It Isn't Only Ice
The NH Department of Energy keeps a record of wide-scale storm outages. Here's how five major storms hit Eversource's New Hampshire customers:
Storm dates | Type | Eversource NH customers affected | Share of its NH customers | Restoration time |
Dec 11 to 24, 2008 | Ice storm | 322,438 | 66% | 312 hours (13 days) |
Feb 25 to Mar 4, 2010 | Windstorm | 265,728 | 53% | 144 hours (6 days) |
Oct 29 to Nov 4, 2011 | October nor'easter (snow) | 237,000 | 47% | 159 hours (about 6.6 days) |
Nov 26 to Dec 1, 2014 | Thanksgiving Eve snowstorm | 207,359 | 41% | 114 hours (about 4.75 days) |
Oct 29 to Nov 4, 2017 | Severe rain and wind | 217,518 | 41% | 159 hours (about 6.6 days) |
Four of the five weren't ice storms, and two hit in late October. For the worst storms, planning for about a week without power is realistic.
Smaller utilities took similar hits in 2008, per the same table. NHEC had 55,632 customers out (68%), and restoration took 196 hours. Unitil had 24,164 out (63%) for 168 hours. Liberty's territory had 61,602 out (84%) for 96 hours.
Spring storms count too. On April 4, 2024, a nor'easter dropped heavy snow across the state, and more than 100,000 New Hampshire customers lost power, InDepthNH reported.
Freezing rain keeps doing damage after it stops falling, because ice-loaded limbs keep snapping for hours. This explainer on how ice accumulation causes outages explains why.
A week without grid power is the scenario that separates a whole-home battery system from a portable unit.
Home Battery Backup for Ice Storm and Wet Snow Outages
The storm table points to two different problems. Most outages last a few hours to a day, but a few, usually after ice or heavy wet snow, drag on for several days. A portable power station suits the first, and an installed home system suits the second.
Start with the loads you'd need in a winter outage:
The blower and controls on an oil, propane, or gas furnace or boiler
Your refrigerator
A sump pump or well pump
A CPAP machine
Your Wi-Fi router and phone chargers
Check the nameplate or manual on each one for running and starting watts. Well pumps and sump pumps pull a starting surge that varies a lot by model, so don't guess.
To estimate runtime, multiply battery capacity by 0.85 (our planning assumption for inverter losses, not an EcoFlow spec). For the 2,048Wh DELTA 3 Max, that works out to about 1,741Wh. A steady 150W combined load would run roughly 1,741 ÷ 150, or about 11.6 hours.
The DELTA 3 Max also goes from 0 to 80% in 68 minutes on wall or generator power, so a short generator run can refill it. FEMA's generator safety tips say to keep generators outside, at least 20 feet from the house, with exhaust pointed away.
Do you want heat, well water, and the fridge to keep running through a multi-day ice storm? Then a battery system wired to selected circuits is the closer fit. A licensed electrician handles that wiring.
Renters and smaller homes usually need less. Most outages are short, too. For those cases, a portable unit that runs plug-in essentials from its own outlets is simpler.
A battery is one part of preparing for a winter power outage, along with stored water, warm layers, and a safe way to cook.
Ice and snow bring lines down from above. In a flood, the electrical danger comes up from the basement. And the two halves of the state flood in different ways.
Flooding in New Hampshire: River Valleys vs. the Seacoast
New Hampshire flooding follows two patterns. Inland, long rains and snowmelt push rivers over their banks. On the coast, nor'easters stack storm surge on top of high tide. Either way, utilities may cut power to flooded areas. Water in a basement can also reach the panel, furnace, and outlets.
The National Weather Service lists seven flood types the state sees:
Flash floods
River floods
Tropical systems and coastal flooding
Burn scars and debris flows
Ice and debris jams
Snowmelt
Dam or levee failure
River Flooding: The Mother's Day Flood and July 2023
The Mother's Day flood of May 2006 shows how bad river flooding can get. A USGS report on the flood found that as much as 14 inches of rain fell from May 13 to 17. Peak flows were the largest ever recorded at 14 long-term streamgages. At 14 gages, flows equaled or exceeded a 100-year recurrence interval.
Floods in New Hampshire returned in July 2023. The President approved a major disaster declaration (DR-4740-NH) for storms and flooding from July 9 to 17. NOAA reported that the state had one of its ten wettest Julys on record.
Seacoast Flooding: Nor'easters and High Tides in Hampton
The NH Department of Environmental Services reviewed the Hampton tide gauge data from 2013 through 2020. On 36% of recorded days, at least one high tide topped the 10-foot flood mark. Only one event passed 13 feet, during the January 2018 nor'easter.
That's the kind of nor'easter New Hampshire coastal towns plan around. When one arrives at high tide, wind takes down lines while surge floods low streets, both at the same time. In January 2024, a second disaster declaration (DR-4771-NH) covered storms and flooding from January 9 to 14.
Basic flood safety:
Never walk into a flooded basement while the power is on.
Don't touch a wet electrical panel.
Keep any battery or generator above the expected water line.
Never plug a power station into equipment that's been underwater.
Low streets can also flood on sunny days during king tides and coastal flooding.
Whether the cause is a flooded road in Hampton or a snapped pine in Keene, the first hours without power follow the same checklist.
What to Do in the First Hours Without Power
Once you've reported the outage, your job is keeping people warm, food cold, and air safe.
Report the outage using the table above. Don't assume a neighbor did.
Stay away from downed lines. Call 911 for any immediate danger.
Never run a generator indoors. Keep it 20 feet from buildings, and don't heat with a gas range or oven.
Use flashlights, not candles.
Keep the fridge and freezer closed. Per FoodSafety.gov's power outage guidance, a fridge keeps food safe for up to 4 hours, and a full freezer holds about 48 hours (24 if half full).
Close off unused rooms and add layers.
Follow NH Alerts, NOAA Weather Radio, and the National Weather Service office in Gray, Maine.
Before the next storm, take care of a few things:
Save your utility's outage map.
Charge power stations when forecasters issue a watch.
Test your sump pump.
Store water if your home uses a private well.
Check on neighbors who rely on medical devices.
If an outage runs past the first evening, the rules for fridge and freezer food safety decide what stays and what goes on.
Conclusion
Four main utilities and a few town systems handle power outages in New Hampshire, and the longest ones come from ice, wet snow, wind, and flooding. Save your utility's outage map now. Plan for several days without power in winter, and keep batteries and generators out of flood-prone basements. If you want backup, the EcoFlow DELTA 3 Max covers plug-in essentials, and the EcoFlow DELTA Pro Ultra X with Smart Home Panel 3 can carry selected home circuits.
FAQs
Who do I call for a power outage in New Hampshire?
Call your own utility: Eversource, Unitil, Liberty, NHEC, or your municipal electric department. For a downed line or any immediate danger, call 911 first.
Is there a statewide New Hampshire power outage map?
Each utility runs its own map. Third-party trackers combine them, but your utility's map has the restoration estimate for your street.
What was the worst power outage in New Hampshire history?
The NH Public Utilities Commission called the December 2008 ice storm "the most damaging ice storm in recent New Hampshire history." It left more than 400,000 customers without power.
Why does a nor'easter in New Hampshire cause both flooding and outages?
Wind and heavy wet snow bring down trees and lines, while surge at high tide floods low-lying Seacoast streets, such as those in Hampton.
How long will a portable power station run my refrigerator in an outage?
Use capacity × 0.85 ÷ your fridge's watts. For the DELTA 3 Max (2,048Wh), a 150W load runs about 11.6 hours, as an estimate.
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