Norwich ― There are no hurricanes in the forecast for eastern Connecticut, but Norwich Public Utilities is working to improve its severe weather communications system, launching a new outage map to pinpoint problem areas.

The map will show clusters of outages, not individual homes or businesses, NPU officials said in a news release. If customers see their neighborhoods on the map, they would not need to call the utility’s customer service number.

“While we are very proud of our storm-response performance in the past, we will never be complacent,” Chris LaRose, NPU general manager said in a news release. “Providing our customers with the best possible information before and during a storm is a critical part of our strategy during any major storm.”

As part of its enhanced customer communications efforts, NPU is implementing two new technologies.

The outage map will be added to the NPU website, www.norwichpublicutilities.com, to provide customers with a snapshot of outages across the city. The map will update every 10 minutes and display clusters of customers out of service.

NPU also will make greater use of its “robo-call” system, CodeRed, to make automated calls to customers to provide updates on outages, progress with restoration, and important safety messages, NPU officials said. While automated calls have been used on a limited basis by NPU in the past, in a major storm, NPU will communicate with customers via CodeRed on a regular basis.

NPU is encouraging customers to confirm that NPU has their most up-to-date phone numbers for these calls.

NPU’s standard storm preparation measures also have been underway throughout the summer. NPU line crews and two contractor tree crews have been working on tree trimming and removing heavy vegetation, especially vine growth in targeted areas.

The utility has confirmed the availability of two contractor tree crews assigned to NPU at all times. An additional six contractor tree crews will be available to respond during a major storm if necessary.

NPU has mutual aid agreements with the Northeast Public Power Association, NEPPA, and the American Public Power Association, APPA. If a storm is localized to lower New England, crews from other NEPPA members will be able to send line crews to assist with restoration efforts in Norwich. If a storm is more wide-reaching and impacting most of New England, crews from the APPA mutual aid network would make crews from other parts of the country available to assist. NPU regularly participates in mutual aid coordination meetings with both organizations.