As many of you may recall Hurricane Noel hit Southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod on Saturday November 3rd 2007 resulting in massive power outages throughout the region.

The Local contacted NSTAR during and after the storm regarding our concerns with the storm restoration plan, length of outages and safety of the public. The Company responded by requesting that the Local provide recommendations regarding the deployment of resources during a storm to improve our service response.

This request resulted in the Local establishing the “Storm Assessment Committee”.

The committee is represented by all of the essential job classifications (Dispatchers, Troubleshooters, Lineworkers, ECSD’s and Call Center Reps.). I would like to commend the committee- Jeff Holmes, Craig Connolly, Tim Morrissey, Tony Simmons, Paul Williams, Mike McGuire, Dave Packer, Bill O’Neill, Mike Blais and Kathy Flynn for their commitment to improve customer restoration, worker efficiency and safety of workers and the public during an emergency.

The committee has met with the Company and presented several recommendations. A follow up meeting has been scheduled to fine tune the restoration procedure. If the final report is not acceptable to the Local, we will not support it. It’s time we put the pen to the paper and create a clear and concise Emergency Response Plan so that in the future we will be able to do what we do best-“Power Restoration” in a safe and timely manner.

This committee is a perfect example of how important it is for the Local to be proactive. It allows the members to have input and control in the work place. It is much better to be proactive, and stand and fight than to sit and watch.

Closing note, we have been very busy preparing for upcoming contract negotiations with Distrigas (LNG facility in Everett) and Entergy P&M/OTP(Pilgrim Nuclear Plant). We will be proactive and aggressive to get our members what they deserve.

I would like to wish Nstar Overhead Leader Lineworker Scott Gower a speedy recovery from his on the job injury.