Massachusetts

• Based on the HHS emPOWER Map, which displays the total number of at-risk electricity-dependent Medicare beneficiaries, Massachusetts has over 1.4 million Medicare beneficiaries with 41,040 being at-risk beneficiaries. 
• The coastal counties (Essex, Plymouth, Barnstable, Nantucket, Dukes, Bristol, Norfolk, and Suffolk) are likely to be impacted the most by Hurricane Lee and they account for 21,180 of the at-risk beneficiaries. 
• This means blocked roadway access, damaged infrastructure, and power outages could significantly impact those coastal communities. It’ll be essential that response teams clear debris and restore power to those counties as quickly as possible.
• There are 6 regional emergency shelters in Barnstable County that can be activated if conditions are severe enough. As of Thursday, September 14, all 6 shelters statuses are closed. 
• Eversource Energy and National Grid are the two main electric utility companies that service the coastal counties in Massachusetts. Mainly all the coastal counties are serviced by Eversource Energy besides Nantucket which is serviced by National Grid.
• Eversource Energy is monitoring the storm and anticipates significant power outages as the preexisting conditions (saturated grounds and weakened trees) are opportune for power outages. They are pre-positioning equipment and teams across the state to respond as quickly as possible.  

Maine

• Based on the HHS emPOWER Map, which displays the total number of at-risk electricity-dependent Medicare beneficiaries, Maine has 364,743 Medicare beneficiaries with 12,579 being at-risk beneficiaries. 
• The coastal counties (York, Cumberland, Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox, Waldo, Hancock, and Washington) are likely to be impacted the most by Hurricane Lee and they account for 5,751 of the at-risk beneficiaries. 
• Central Maine Power (CMP) and Versant Power are electric utility companies that service the coastal counties in Maine and both are preparing for Hurricane Lee.
• CMP noted that Maine could see significant power outages due to high winds knocking down stressed and weakened trees – especially with Maine having the highest tree density of any state.
• Versant Power has stated that they are preparing for outages throughout their service areas and have already contracted additional response teams to get power back up as soon as possible. Versant Power also anticipates significant power outages due to stressed trees and saturated grounds. 
• Maine has several island communities along the eastern coast that are currently suffering from rising water levels and those issues could be further exacerbated by Hurricane Lee. 
• While Maine’s coastal counties are more protected from storm surge and rising water levels, the island communities are at a much higher risk of seeing significant impacts. And vulnerable populations within those communities could experience exacerbated conditions.