Ready or not, Diamond District set to go dark

LYNN – Diamond District residents who have experienced power outages and electrical failures in recent years will have to endure 12 hours of darkness beginning Tuesday night so that National Grid can permanently fix the problem.Beginning at 11 p.m. on Tuesday, National Grid will shut off the power to that neighborhood in order to improve the electrical system through repair and maintenance. The outage will serve as the final planned blackout to correct the longstanding electrical reliability issues in the Diamond District.The electric company has estimated that the work will take approximately 12 hours, resulting in a restoration of power at 11 a.m. Wednesday morning.As a result, the Brickett Elementary School on Lewis Street will close for the day Wednesday to avoid safety concerns if the outage lasts longer than expected. Teachers from that school will report to the school administration building for professional development, while students will simply have a day off. Superintendent Nicholas Kostan said he expects school to resume Thursday.Residents are urged to make necessary arrangements in order to avoid problems that being without power for up to 12 hours could create. Customers should unplug anything that runs off of electricity, especially appliances and expensive electronic equipment such as computers or televisions.All perishable food should be removed from refrigerators and placed in coolers to avoid spoiling.Local businesses will also be affected by the blackout, and health officials are urging pharmacies and stores with perishable goods to make sure that all medication and food that needs to be refrigerated are kept on ice during the blackout.Traffic signals in the area will also be out for at least a portion of the 12-hour procedure. The lights at Eastern Avenue and New Ocean Street, and the lights at Lewis and Ocean streets will both be out for the entirety of the maintenance work. DPW workers have installed temporary stop signs at those intersections.Lights at Lewis and Autumn streets and Lewis and Lafayette Park will remain off for six to eight hours.National Grid performs planned electrical outages whenever electrical systems are in need of repair. By scheduling them, the repairs can be made in a much shorter period of time and minimize the impact on nearby residents and businesses.Tuesday’s outage may be postponed if unexpected weather patterns drop the temperature below 20 degrees, or above 90 degrees, or if severe weather such as heavy rain and thunder is predicted for that time.If this is the case, the company will move the outage up one day to Wednesday into Thursday during the same time period.Customers should notify security and alarm providers of the planned outages to avoid any problems. Also, customers who rely on special equipment for health reasons are urged to have backup systems in place to ensure a continuous supply of power. In addition, some home heating systems may require a restart by service technicians.Residents who have questions about the planned outage should call the National Grid Operations Engineer at 781-388-5347 or customer service at 800-322-3223.The outage will affect addresses on the following streets:Aubrey Terrace, Beyer Place, Blaisdell Terrace, Eastern Avenue to number 35, Gray Circle, Greystone Park, Kenwood Terrace, King Street, Lafayette Park, Landon Circle, Lewis Place, Lewis Street to number 32, Lovett Place, Lynn Shore Drive to number 85, New Ocean Street, Norcross Terrace, Norwood Terrace, Ocean Circle, Ocean Street, Ocean Terrace, Oceanside Terrace, Pierce Road, Seaside Terrace, Stone Place and Wallace Road.