The attorney general is asking for $11.680 million fine for infractions by National Grid during the Octorber snowstorm including more than $8 million alone for being late in responding to more than 1,500 priority calls for downed wires.
This is an updated version of a story posted at 9:46 this morning.
BOSTON -- Attorney General Martha M. Coakley on Thursday proposed a $16.3 million fine against National Grid, saying the giant utility failed to communicate effectively, neglected to mobilize enough crews and was delinquent in responding to thousands of fallen wires during last year's October snow storm and Tropical Storm Irene.
Coakley said she is asking the state Department of Public Utilities to issue $4.645 million fine for National Grid violations during the tropical storm.
Martha M. CoakleyShe is seeking $11.6 million fine for infractions during the Oct. 29 storm including more than $8 million alone for being late in responding to more than 1,500 priority calls for downed wires.
"This is the largest penalty we have ever sought in Massachusetts and for good reasons," Coakley said at a press conference.
Deborah Drew, a spokeswoman for National Grid in New England, issued a prepared statement, saying company officials "strongly disagree with the extreme conclusions of the attorney general. Drew said she would not comment beyond the statement.
She said the company will file its formal response on Wednesday with the state Department of Public Utilities, which will decide if any fine is imposed. She said the company will wait to see the department's findings and recommendations.
"While we acknowledge that our storm restoration efforts did not meet our customers' expectations, and there is room for improvement, we strongly disagree with the extreme conclusions the Attorney General has drawn," Drew said in the statement. "We will address those issues in our August 1 response to the DPU. We will continue to work to provide the level of service our customers expect and deserve."
National Grid, based in London, provides electricity and gas in the Northeast part of this country. It serves 168 communities in Massachusetts including Belchertown, Brimfield, East Longmeadow, Erving, Granby, Northampton, Palmer and Wilbraham, which felt the brunt of the October storm.
The October storm dumped up to two feet of wet, heavy snow and shocked a region that was still recovering from the devastating June 1 tornado and a microburst that struck Wilbraham in July. Statewide, the October storm knocked out power for some for up to nine days and downed 22,000 wires, Coakley said.
In a filing with the utilities department, National Grid said that it activated and followed its emergency plan to safely restore power to its customers as quickly and responsibly as possible.
Coakley said National Grid violated its emergency plan and state standards for assuring power is restored safely and promptly. In a brief, Coakley said National Grid was "egregiously inadequate" in sending crews to take care of certain priority downed wires.
Earlier this month, the attorney general asked for a $4 million penalty against the Western Massachusetts Electric Co. for its response to the Oct. 29 snow storm.
During a press conference, Coakley said that National Grid's performance during the storms was "woefully lacking." She said power outages lasted longer and were more severe than needed.
She said that a fine would send a message that National Grid should improve.
Coakley said any fines would need to be paid by the companies, not their customers. Under current state law, a fine would go into the state's general fund, but Coakley said she supports legislation that will require all fines to go directly back to ratepayers.
In seeking a fine from Western Massachusetts Electric, Coakley said the electric utility violated its plan for responding to the October storm. Coakley said the infractions included faulty communications with the city of Springfield and failing to properly alert customers to the potential of losing power for a week, neglecting to contact customers on life support during and after the storm and neglecting to provide damage assessments within 48 hours after the storm.
The Western Massachusetts Electric Co. says there is no reason to fine the company for its performance. In a filing with the state utilities department, the company said that it responded quickly and effectively to the most severe weather event in the company's history.
In a brief filed with the public utilities department, Coakley said that under state law, a company faces $250,000 fine for each day a violation occurs.
She said National Grid broke its emergency plan by failing to analyze damage assessment information within 48 hours or sooner during the two storms. She is seeking $1.25 million penalty for violating this provision, or $250,000 for each of five days during the tropical storm and $1.5 million, or $250,000 for each of six days during the October storm.
Because National Grid failed to mobilize enough crews in violation of its plan, Coakley is proposing $500,000 fine for the tropical storm and $1 million for the October storm.
The attorney general said restoration should have taken five days for the October storm, but it took nine days.
Coakley said National Grid should be penalized $5,000 for each priority downed wire to which it failed to dispatch a crew in a timely manner, or 24 hours, after being called by police and fire.
Coakley's office counted 21,529 wires down in the state during the October storm and 13,062 during Irene.
During the October storm, Coakley said there were 1,686 priority wire down calls that were not dispatched within a reasonable time, meaning the company should be fined $8.43 million.
She wants $1.145 million fine for 229 delinquent wire down calls during Irene.
She also wants a fine for $250,000 for each of three days, or a total of $750,000 that National Grid failed to provide estimated times for restoration to customers during the October storm.