Power Outage!

The Real BigGuy · 07-02-2026, 02:25 PM

Today of all days with this heat! Power has been going out on Little Bear. It goes out, come back on, then fades up and down, the drops. Guess everyone using AC over taxed a transformer somewhere in the system. Appears the is a significant outage in the Moultonborough area according to the Co-Op outage map.

hilltopper · 07-02-2026, 04:20 PM

NHEC coming through when most needed! An issue with their “transmission provider” which they are now, and have been for two hours, “assessing”.

fatlazyless · 07-02-2026, 05:41 PM

Time to fire up the wood stove ..... always smart to keep a good supply of dry fire wood and kindling ...... just in case the power goes down.

This is strictly a cold weather, winter, wet heavy snow and wind type of a problem and never ever happens in the summer.

Too hot today; is time to hit that 68-degree lake water and chill out till the power returns.

When the power is down, the wheel on the meter stops turning, and NHEC isn't selling no power.

The Real BigGuy · 07-02-2026, 05:53 PM

No sooner did I send the post then the problem cleared up. Ah, no worries about cold beer!!

Happy 4th & 250th everyone!!

Winilyme · 07-02-2026, 06:14 PM

Still no power where I am in Meredith. Started out as a partial outage - half our house. Assume we lost one of our 120V utility feeds. About two hours later it became a full outage. NHEC online outage center is no help. Basically zero info or reassurances to be found there. Just learn how to provide reasonable updates and I’d be happy.

Biggd · 07-02-2026, 10:24 PM

Just came on here in Meredith, praise be the lord!

phoenix · 07-03-2026, 07:05 AM

8 hours in Moultonboro

retired · 07-03-2026, 11:11 AM

Power was sporadic in West Alton Thursday. Typical on hot days in summer. Don't know why.

Biggd · 07-04-2026, 10:33 AM

Can't affords in Meredith, shelves were bare. They had to throw out a lot of food that spoiled due to the power outage!

pondguy · 07-04-2026, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biggd

Can't affords in Meredith, shelves were bare. They had to throw out a lot of food that spoiled due to the power outage!

That makes me happy I got my filet mignons thursday for todays BBQ.

Happy Birthday America!

tummyman · 07-04-2026, 11:43 AM

Nothing like a useless utility. And has anyone heard from one of the distinguished Board members who earn big bucks for doing little? Their web site during the outage had at least three times for restoration but they missed a number of them. The State Dept. of Public Utilities should start an investigation and provide REAL PUBLIC answers to the customers. After all, NHEC says they are a member owned utility....well, members need to ask real questions. Who was the alleged transmission provider that messed up? What was the real problem? Why didn't power get rerouted? But don't expect answers.....they keep lots to themselves. Like they always quote how many members have "access" to their beloved fiber network, but you never see data on how many or what percent of those folks are actual subscribers. But when it comes time to cut down your trees and vegetation so they can access their lines, you get screwed. The line crews are fabulous, but management and the Board of Directors leave a lot of open questions.

8545retfd · 07-04-2026, 12:38 PM

you like to talk the talk, and spout rhetoric, but have you ever walked the walk? Record heat, record usage. what about that don't you get? In other words Karen, Waaa!

Little Bear · 07-04-2026, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 8545retfd

you like to talk the talk, and spout rhetoric, but have you ever walked the walk? Record heat, record usage. what about that don't you get? In other words Karen, Waaa!

Are you a customer of NHEC? I am and have been for over 30 years at multiple properties. These outages and surges of dirty power are regular occurrences, and often not attributed to weather or high demand issues. NHEC is not regulated by NH Public Utilities Commission, so who exactly are they accountable to?

hilltopper · 07-04-2026, 01:52 PM

I agree that the line crews are awesome! Everything outside of that I’m less than impressed with. I feel for the businesses that must have lost money during a key holiday period that they count on to carry them through the off season. But what other NH utilities are better? I’ve seen a couple of storms where some of my coworkers in Southern NH, in much more populated areas, were out of power for a week. That’s never happened to us here in Meredith over our 20 years here. However, transparency. In my manufacturing job, if something like this went wrong, I’d have a lot of folks outside of my office looking for answers. And I would damn we’ll be expected to provide those answers.

TheTimeTraveler · 07-04-2026, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Little Bear

Are you a customer of NHEC? I am and have been at multiple properties for over 30 years. These outages and surges of dirty power are regular occurrences, and often not attributed to weather or high demand issues. NHEC is not regulated by NH Public Utilities Commission, so who exactly are they accountable to?

I was unaware that they are not regulated by the NH Public Utilities Commission.

If that's the case then I would guess they report to "their members" since they are 100% member supported.

Anyone know for sure?

John Mercier · 07-04-2026, 02:35 PM

LDS - "Meanwhile, some folks in the Lakes Region had power issues of their own. Thousands of customers were without power Thursday night after a tree fell on a distribution line, according to Eversource."

TomC · 07-04-2026, 05:20 PM

well - its dead calm, only in the low 80's and there are over 1000 people without power in Gilmanton IW/Barnstead at 5pm 7/4/26...Sorry, NHEC is very unreliable.

Little Bear · 07-04-2026, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomC

well - its dead calm, only in the low 80's and there are over 1000 people without power in Gilmanton IW/Barnstead at 5pm 7/4/26...Sorry, NHEC is very unreliable.

And there you have it. I rest my case.

Biggd · 07-04-2026, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hilltopper

I agree that the line crews are awesome! Everything outside of that I’m less than impressed with. I feel for the businesses that must have lost money during a key holiday period that they count on to carry them through the off season. But what other NH utilities are better? I’ve seen a couple of storms where some of my coworkers in Southern NH, in much more populated areas, were out of power for a week. That’s never happened to us here in Meredith over our 20 years here. However, transparency. In my manufacturing job, if something like this went wrong, I’d have a lot of folks outside of my office looking for answers. And I would damn we’ll be expected to provide those answers.

I'm in Meredith and I lost power a few years ago for almost a week. I was very fortunate the weather was mild and we had no freeze ups, but we did lose everything in the refrigerator and freezer.

John Mercier · 07-04-2026, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomC

well - its dead calm, only in the low 80's and there are over 1000 people without power in Gilmanton IW/Barnstead at 5pm 7/4/26...Sorry, NHEC is very unreliable.

Without knowing why, the best the members of NHEC can do is support infrastructure expenditure to upgrade and harden the system. Not sure what that will cost them, but it is something that they can bring to the Board.

jeffk · 07-05-2026, 06:32 AM

Does anyone know what transmission provider failed or why? Was the heat a factor or not? Has this provider proved unreliable in the past?

All things fail eventually. Was this just one of those thing that are going to happen from time to time or a failure of maintenance planning?

Right now, what we should expect from NHEC is an investigation and explanation and that is not going to happen instantly.

retired · 07-07-2026, 01:55 PM

Todays Sun says a tree fell on a power line on Piper Hill Rd. on 7/2. That explains on outage.

tummyman · 07-07-2026, 03:44 PM

So much for NHEC's Vegetation Management Program. They spend millions of dollars each year to cut trees back to within 15 or so feet of their power lines but maybe further back for a transmission line. Despite this, trees fall down. What I do not understand is that they should have mechanisms in place to work power around such issues. 10,000 without power for 8+ hours seems a little strange.

John Mercier · 07-07-2026, 04:15 PM

Eversource line.
And they can only expend on this maintenance what the PUC allows.

07-02-2026, 02:25 PM	#1
The Real BigGuy Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 1,370 Thanks: 130 Thanked 501 Times in 306 Posts	Power Outage! Today of all days with this heat! Power has been going out on Little Bear. It goes out, come back on, then fades up and down, the drops. Guess everyone using AC over taxed a transformer somewhere in the system. Appears the is a significant outage in the Moultonborough area according to the Co-Op outage map.

07-02-2026, 05:41 PM	#3
fatlazyless Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 9,251 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 314 Thanked 1,120 Times in 827 Posts	Time to fire up the wood stove ..... always smart to keep a good supply of dry fire wood and kindling ...... just in case the power goes down. This is strictly a cold weather, winter, wet heavy snow and wind type of a problem and never ever happens in the summer. Too hot today; is time to hit that 68-degree lake water and chill out till the power returns. When the power is down, the wheel on the meter stops turning, and NHEC isn't selling no power. __________________ .... Banned for life from local thrift store!

07-03-2026, 07:05 AM	#7
phoenix Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: phoenix and moultonboro Posts: 1,605 Thanks: 67 Thanked 293 Times in 207 Posts	8 hours in Moultonboro __________________ it's tough to make predictions specially about the future

07-04-2026, 05:20 PM	#17
TomC Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Lakes Region Posts: 859 Thanks: 48 Thanked 197 Times in 124 Posts	well - its dead calm, only in the low 80's and there are over 1000 people without power in Gilmanton IW/Barnstead at 5pm 7/4/26...Sorry, NHEC is very unreliable. Attached Images

The Following User Says Thank You to The Real BigGuy For This Useful Post:
tbonies (07-03-2026)

07-02-2026, 04:20 PM	#2
hilltopper Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Meredith Posts: 733 Thanks: 25 Thanked 109 Times in 70 Posts	NHEC coming through when most needed! An issue with their “transmission provider” which they are now, and have been for two hours, “assessing”.

07-02-2026, 05:53 PM	#4
The Real BigGuy Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 1,370 Thanks: 130 Thanked 501 Times in 306 Posts	No sooner did I send the post then the problem cleared up. Ah, no worries about cold beer!! Happy 4th & 250th everyone!!

07-02-2026, 06:14 PM	#5
Winilyme Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2019 Location: Ice in = CT / Ice out = Winnipesaukee Posts: 620 Thanks: 177 Thanked 338 Times in 184 Posts	Still no power where I am in Meredith. Started out as a partial outage - half our house. Assume we lost one of our 120V utility feeds. About two hours later it became a full outage. NHEC online outage center is no help. Basically zero info or reassurances to be found there. Just learn how to provide reasonable updates and I’d be happy.

07-02-2026, 10:24 PM	#6
Biggd Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2016 Location: Waltham Ma./Meredith NH Posts: 4,537 Thanks: 2,506 Thanked 1,296 Times in 833 Posts	Just came on here in Meredith, praise be the lord!

07-03-2026, 11:11 AM	#8
retired Senior Member Join Date: May 2020 Location: Belmont, NH Posts: 248 Thanks: 3 Thanked 94 Times in 57 Posts	Power was sporadic in West Alton Thursday. Typical on hot days in summer. Don't know why.

07-04-2026, 10:33 AM	#9
Biggd Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2016 Location: Waltham Ma./Meredith NH Posts: 4,537 Thanks: 2,506 Thanked 1,296 Times in 833 Posts	Can't affords in Meredith, shelves were bare. They had to throw out a lot of food that spoiled due to the power outage!

07-04-2026, 11:43 AM	#11
tummyman Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 904 Thanks: 290 Thanked 777 Times in 276 Posts	Nothing like a useless utility. And has anyone heard from one of the distinguished Board members who earn big bucks for doing little? Their web site during the outage had at least three times for restoration but they missed a number of them. The State Dept. of Public Utilities should start an investigation and provide REAL PUBLIC answers to the customers. After all, NHEC says they are a member owned utility....well, members need to ask real questions. Who was the alleged transmission provider that messed up? What was the real problem? Why didn't power get rerouted? But don't expect answers.....they keep lots to themselves. Like they always quote how many members have "access" to their beloved fiber network, but you never see data on how many or what percent of those folks are actual subscribers. But when it comes time to cut down your trees and vegetation so they can access their lines, you get screwed. The line crews are fabulous, but management and the Board of Directors leave a lot of open questions.

The Following User Says Thank You to tummyman For This Useful Post:
Little Bear (07-04-2026)

07-04-2026, 12:38 PM	#12
8545retfd Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2021 Posts: 5 Thanks: 0 Thanked 17 Times in 2 Posts	you like to talk the talk, and spout rhetoric, but have you ever walked the walk? Record heat, record usage. what about that don't you get? In other words Karen, Waaa!

The Following User Says Thank You to 8545retfd For This Useful Post:
Tofu (07-04-2026)

The Following User Says Thank You to Little Bear For This Useful Post:
Worm (07-07-2026)

07-04-2026, 01:52 PM	#14
hilltopper Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Meredith Posts: 733 Thanks: 25 Thanked 109 Times in 70 Posts	I agree that the line crews are awesome! Everything outside of that I’m less than impressed with. I feel for the businesses that must have lost money during a key holiday period that they count on to carry them through the off season. But what other NH utilities are better? I’ve seen a couple of storms where some of my coworkers in Southern NH, in much more populated areas, were out of power for a week. That’s never happened to us here in Meredith over our 20 years here. However, transparency. In my manufacturing job, if something like this went wrong, I’d have a lot of folks outside of my office looking for answers. And I would damn we’ll be expected to provide those answers.

07-04-2026, 02:35 PM	#16
John Mercier Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2021 Posts: 4,157 Thanks: 3 Thanked 701 Times in 580 Posts	LDS - "Meanwhile, some folks in the Lakes Region had power issues of their own. Thousands of customers were without power Thursday night after a tree fell on a distribution line, according to Eversource."

07-05-2026, 06:32 AM	#21
jeffk Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Center Harbor Posts: 1,281 Thanks: 220 Thanked 505 Times in 294 Posts	Does anyone know what transmission provider failed or why? Was the heat a factor or not? Has this provider proved unreliable in the past? All things fail eventually. Was this just one of those thing that are going to happen from time to time or a failure of maintenance planning? Right now, what we should expect from NHEC is an investigation and explanation and that is not going to happen instantly.

07-07-2026, 01:55 PM	#22
retired Senior Member Join Date: May 2020 Location: Belmont, NH Posts: 248 Thanks: 3 Thanked 94 Times in 57 Posts	Todays Sun says a tree fell on a power line on Piper Hill Rd. on 7/2. That explains on outage.

07-07-2026, 03:44 PM	#23
tummyman Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 904 Thanks: 290 Thanked 777 Times in 276 Posts	So much for NHEC's Vegetation Management Program. They spend millions of dollars each year to cut trees back to within 15 or so feet of their power lines but maybe further back for a transmission line. Despite this, trees fall down. What I do not understand is that they should have mechanisms in place to work power around such issues. 10,000 without power for 8+ hours seems a little strange.

07-07-2026, 04:15 PM	#24
John Mercier Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2021 Posts: 4,157 Thanks: 3 Thanked 701 Times in 580 Posts	Eversource line. And they can only expend on this maintenance what the PUC allows.