Over 500,000 With Power Restored

CL&P says it is making sigificant progress towards restoring power after Hurricane Irene, with more than 500,000 customers restored so far. But that leaves more than 354,000 without power, including most of Madison, just about all of Clinton, and the entire town of Westbrook.

Madison was still 96 percent without power, as of Tuesday night. Clinton was 98 percent. Guilford was 86 percent, Old Saybrook was 66 percent, and Westbrook was 100 percent.

The numbers for all of CL&P's customers in Connecticut were as follows:

Total CL&P Customers Served: 1,237,208

Total CL&P Customers Reported Affected: 333,120

% of CL&P Customers Reported Affected: 26%

Five to eight days to get power fully restored

A drive around Madison reveals just how much work remains to be done. Town officials say it could be 5 to 8 days to get power fully restored.

In addition to work at a critical substation on Green Hill Road that supplies much of the power to Madison, Guilford, and Killingworth, there are still lines down all over town, including some primary lines, which are high voltage lines.

At the intersection of Warpas and Green Hill Roads, several primary lines have been knocked down are are sprawled across the road and in someone's front  yard. CL&P posted two people to watch this area today, to warn people to stay at least 10 to 20 feet away. Cones were set up, along with police lines. Still, people inquired as to whether they could pass through.

Workers from CL&P and from around the country at work across town

Along Neck Road, there are huge pieces of equipment propping up compromised utlity poles, and three hanging on lines, including one that hangs low over the road.

In addition to workers from CL&P, there appear to be workers from other parts of the country helping out. One worker on Neck Road said he was from Arizona, and that his truck was from Oklahoma.

“We’ve made good progress today working with the state and towns and realize there’s still a lot of work to be done,” said Jeff Butler, president and chief operating officer, CL&P, in a prepared statement.  “We understand how difficult the loss of power is on all our customers and appreciate their patience.  Many of our employees working this restoration are also customers who are returning to homes without power.”

By Friday, nearly 1,200 expected to be at work

As of this afternoon, 900 line and tree crews were working across the state with additional crews arriving daily.  By Friday, we expect to have nearly 1,200 crews working to restore power to CL&P customers, making this the largest single contingent of crews in Connecticut history.

Tonight, we've begun providing restoration estimates by town.  Estimates will be available first for towns on the western side of the state where damage was less severe and assessments were completed more quickly.  

Over the next 48 hours, we will focus first on working with the state and towns to restore power to critical customers including schools, waste water treatment plants, communication facilities and other town priorities.  In the hardest hit towns, we’re also focused on restoring town centers, which will be critical in providing people with important services.

NEVER touch a downed line

For your safety, CL&P also reminds customers to NEVER touch a downed line and stay at least 10 feet away from all wires. Assume any downed, hanging or burning power lines are live and dangerous.  Call 9-1-1 immediately with any emergency condition.  If you are using a generator, make sure it has been installed properly and never use it indoors or in partially enclosed spaces.  

To report outages or check the status of an outage, visit cl-p.com or call 800-286-2000.  Our automated phone and online systems can rapidly process your report and help us speed restoration efforts.

For helpful tips and news updates, go to our website at cl-p.com, follow us on Twitter @CTLightandPower and like us at Facebook.com/CTLightandPower.  You can also get updates on outages in your town by texting “outage” and your zip code to 24612 (texting fees may apply).