Just in time for a heat wave, Martha’s Vineyard is relying partially on backup generators for electricity after an electric cable failed last week.
NStar spokesperson Michael Durand said Tuesday that electricity to the Island is being provided via two underwater cables and up to 15 temporary generators on Island.
Power is slowly coming back on across the Island after a cable failure on the mainland caused power outages Friday afternoon. A spokesperson for the utility company Nstar said a cable failure in Falmouth caused the outage and the electricity company is starting up generators to restore power. Power should be fully restored by 5 p.m. According to the NSTAR outage map online, more than 6,200 NSTAR customers were affected. The cause of the failure is unknown at this time.
The Martha’s Vineyard Commission Thursday unanimously approved Comcast and NStar’s application to install an undersea cable to provide backup service to the Island.
NStar and Comcast requested approval for the installation of a 4.5 mile undersea hybrid fiber optic and electric cable between Falmouth and Martha’s Vineyard, with the cable going underneath the sea floor and coming to land on Squantum avenue and Main street in Vineyard Haven.
The state Department of Public Utilities has approved a 15‑year power purchase agreement between the electric company NStar and Cape Wind Associates, the company that plans to build a wind farm on Nantucket Sound.
The approval was announced this week following an eight-month adjudicatory proceeding.
NSTAR received emergency permission from the Edgartown selectmen on Monday to replace a damaged submarine cable in the channel between Edgartown and Chappaquiddick. The cable failure caused a nine-hour power outage on Chappaquiddick in September.
