How to Report a National Grid Outage in Massachusetts

It's 7 p.m. on a Wednesday. The pasta is half-cooked, the kids are doing homework, and the house goes dark. For roughly three million Massachusetts customers served by National Grid, that moment happens more often than anyone would like. The good news is that National Grid has a straightforward reporting system, and every outage report you file helps the company dispatch crews to the right neighborhood faster.

This guide walks through every way to report an outage, how to read the National Grid outage map, what information to have ready, and a few safety rules worth reviewing before the next storm season arrives.

National Grid is one of two investor-owned electric utilities in Massachusetts. It delivers electricity to customers across much of central and western Massachusetts, as well as portions of the South Shore and Cape Cod area. National Grid also operates a separate service territory on Nantucket Island.

The other large utility in the state is Eversource, which covers eastern Massachusetts including Greater Boston, the North Shore, and parts of southeastern Massachusetts. If you are unsure which utility serves your address, check your electric bill or visit our Massachusetts electricity guide for a quick territory overview.

Reporting your outage to the correct utility matters. A report filed with Eversource will not trigger a National Grid crew dispatch, and vice versa.

National Grid offers three main channels for outage reporting.

By phone: Call National Grid's outage reporting line at 1-800-867-5222. The automated system is available around the clock, 365 days a year. Have your account number or the phone number associated with your account ready. The system will confirm your address, log the outage, and give you an estimated restoration time if one is available. For life-threatening emergencies involving downed wires or the smell of gas, call 911 first, then National Grid.

Online portal: Visit nationalgridus.com and navigate to the "Report an Outage" section. You will need to log in or provide your account number and ZIP code. The online form takes about two minutes to complete and logs the same priority ticket as a phone call.

Text message: If you are enrolled in National Grid's text alerts, you can text OUT to the number associated with your account enrollment to report an outage and receive status updates by text. Check your enrollment confirmation email for the correct short code if you signed up previously.

Whichever channel you use, note the confirmation number the system provides. That number is your reference point if you need to follow up.

The National Grid outage map is publicly accessible at nationalgridus.com without logging in. It refreshes roughly every 15 minutes and shows affected areas as shaded clusters, color-coded by the number of customers without power.

Here is what the map tells you and what it does not.

What it shows: Approximate location of active outages, number of customers affected in each cluster, cause of the outage (when confirmed), and an estimated restoration time (ETR) once crews have assessed the damage.

What it does not show: Individual address status, outages that have not yet been reported, or real-time crew location. If your block is dark but no cluster appears near your address, it may mean no one in your area has reported the outage yet. File a report. Your submission can trigger the first cluster to appear on the map.

Estimated restoration times: The ETR is based on the type of damage and available crews, not a guarantee. A line down in a neighborhood might show a two-hour ETR while a transmission-level failure affecting thousands of customers could show "assessing" for the first hour or more. Check the map periodically rather than watching it continuously.

Gathering a few pieces of information before you dial or submit online can shave time off the process.

Your account number. Found in the upper-right area of your paper or digital bill. If you cannot locate it, National Grid can also look up your account by the phone number on file.

Your service address. If your billing address differs from where the outage is occurring (for example, a landlord paying a tenant's bill), have the service address ready, not just the billing address.

Whether your neighbors are also out. The representative or automated system may ask whether your outage appears to be isolated to your home or affects multiple properties. A single-home outage often points to a tripped main breaker or a service-entrance problem, while a neighborhood outage points to distribution-level equipment.

Any hazardous conditions you can safely observe. Downed wires, transformer sparks, or the smell of burning near utility equipment should be reported clearly. Stay at least 30 feet from any downed line and treat it as energized regardless of whether it appears to be sparking.

Most outages in Massachusetts last a few hours or less, but longer events do occur, especially during nor'easters and summer thunderstorms. A few habits make the wait safer.

Generator safety: Never run a generator inside a garage, basement, or any enclosed space. Carbon monoxide from a generator can reach lethal concentrations within minutes in an enclosed area. Keep generators at least 20 feet from windows and doors.

Food safety: A full refrigerator will hold a safe temperature for roughly four hours with the door closed. A full, unopened chest freezer can hold food safely for around 48 hours. When in doubt about whether food has been at unsafe temperatures too long, discard it.

Medical equipment: If anyone in the home depends on electrically powered medical equipment, contact National Grid in advance to register as a medical baseline customer. Registration does not guarantee priority restoration, but it ensures crews know a medical need exists at the address.

Candle caution: Candles cause a notable share of house fires during power outages. Battery-powered LED lanterns are a safer choice.

When the lights come back on, a quick walkthrough of the house protects appliances and confirms everything is working correctly.

Turn off or unplug major appliances before power is restored if possible, or immediately after, to avoid a surge load when the grid reconnects. Reset clocks, thermostats, and any smart home devices that lost their settings. Check the circuit breaker panel for any breakers that tripped during the outage and reset them one at a time.

If power returns to the neighborhood but not to your home specifically, the problem may be on the service entrance between the utility pole and your meter. Call National Grid to report a partial or no-service situation. Do not attempt to inspect the weatherhead or meter yourself.

If you lost food due to a prolonged outage caused by a utility equipment failure, National Grid has a food spoilage reimbursement program. Contact National Grid's customer service after power is restored to ask about the current reimbursement process and documentation requirements.

A power outage is an inconvenient reminder of how central electricity is to daily life. It is also a reasonable moment to review whether you are paying a competitive rate for the electricity you use.

As of August 2026, National Grid's default supply rate (called Basic Service) is approximately 17.2 cents per kilowatt-hour for standard residential customers, including those on Nantucket. Eversource's Basic Service rate is approximately 17.3 cents per kilowatt-hour. The lowest competitive supplier rate available in Massachusetts is approximately 15.1 cents per kilowatt-hour, though that figure varies by territory and contract terms.

Massachusetts is a deregulated electricity market, which means residential customers can choose a competitive supplier for the supply portion of their bill while the utility (National Grid or Eversource) continues to handle delivery. The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) oversees both the utilities and competitive suppliers. The state's official rate-comparison resource is Energy Switch Massachusetts, available through the DPU.

For a side-by-side look at current competitive supplier offers in your area, visit ElectricRates.org's Massachusetts page or check ElectricRates.org for live rates that reflect the latest available offers.

Reporting a National Grid outage quickly helps crews reach your area sooner. Here is the short version.

Phone: 1-800-867-5222, available 24 hours a day.
Online: nationalgridus.com, "Report an Outage" section.
Text: Text OUT if enrolled in National Grid text alerts.
Outage map: nationalgridus.com, publicly accessible, updates every 15 minutes.
Life-threatening emergency: Call 911 first.

Once the outage is behind you, it is worth spending a few minutes reviewing your supply rate. Massachusetts customers have options, and the DPU's Energy Switch Massachusetts portal along with ElectricRates.org can help you find them.