EXETER, NH–Unitil, a local provider of natural gas and electricity, was joined by state and local officials, business leaders, and employees for the groundbreaking ceremony of its planned 54,000 square foot regional facility in Exeter, NH today.
The facility will be located on the soon to be renamed Energy Way just off Exit 9 on Rt. 101, a location selected specifically to help facilitate swift response to outages throughout Unitil’s seacoast service region.
The facility will be home to Unitil’s seacoast electric distribution operations as well as its forestry, engineering and centralized electric dispatch teams. During major weather events, the facility will also serve as the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for the region and will support preparation, damage assessment, public safety, and restoration efforts as the hub of local operations.
“Our new facility here in Exeter will be central to our ongoing mission to safely and reliably provide electric service to our customers here in the New Hampshire coastal region,” Unitil CEO Tom Meissner said. “The Town of Exeter has been a great partner of ours for many years, and we are thrilled to be calling it home for our electric operations.”
Unitil selected Manchester-based PROCON as the designer and construction manager for the project. Plans call for a two-story office building with a warehouse, garage space for bucket trucks and other operations vehicles, a vehicle wash bay, and workshop/lab spaces for other departments. Plans also include a designated testing and training room as well as a newly constructed outdoor pole training area, both of which are designed to help employees stay on top of the latest in safety techniques and operational best practices.
PROCON Director of Development Paul Roy stated, Our PROCON design team worked together to include all of Unitil’s needs, and remain cost-effective. So, I know that the Unitil employees will be very happy with the finished project. I also want to thank the Town of Exeter, which has been outstanding to work with again – a true working relationship.”
The building is expected to open for business in summer 2020.
