The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Towns see big jump in power restoration
Utility crews have made great progress restoring power in the aftermath of Wednesday’s powerful nor’easter that hit lower Middlesex County particularly hard and left cities and towns with scores of downed trees and power lines.
By 7:30 p.m. Friday, 3 percent of Eversource customers remained without service.
Outages in percentages reported as of 7:30 p.m. Friday were: Chester, 60; Deep River, 31; Killingworth, 50; Haddam, 59; East Haddam, 26; Essex, 22; Clinton, 14; Old Saybrook, 18; Westbrook, 13; Portland, 4; East Hampton, 9, according to Eversource.
Eversource crews are working around the clock, facing challenging conditions to restore power to customers impacted by Wednesday afternoon’s storm, according to a news release. “Helicopters are being used to identify remote damage areas and in some locations, heavy equipment, including bulldozers are needed to access repair locations.
“We are telling people to be safe, come to the shelter if they desire, and above all, stay away from any power lines, even if they don’t think they are live.”
Chester First Selectwoman Lauren Gister
“We recognize how difficult it is for our customers to be without power and we greatly appreciate their patience,” Eversource Vice President of Electric Operations in Connecticut Michael Hayhurst said in a prepared statement. “We’ve made tremendous progress despite the difficult conditions our crews are facing and continue working tirelessly to get the lights back on for everyone still affected by this storm.”
The utility gave an estimate of statewide power restoration on its Twitter feed Friday afternoon: by Sunday at 11 p.m. However, many customers would be back online earlier than that.
“Eversource line and tree crews are working nonstop alongside dozens of out-ofstate crews to repair the destruction caused by the heavy, wet snow and high winds that hit Connecticut Wednesday afternoon,” Eversource said in a news release Thursday evening. “The damage caused by the storm is extensive and widespread, leaving hundreds of broken poles and thousands of feet of downed power lines around the state.”
East Haddam First Selectman Emmett Lyman and Emergency Management Director Craig Mansfield said in a 4 p.m. news release. There were over 15 crews in town performing road clearing and power restoration. Crews are scheduled to continue working through the night to get the roads cleared and power restored as quickly as possible, they said.
“Residents are asked to check on their neighbors and especially those with special needs who remain without power.”
The Senior Center will
open Saturday morning at 8 a.m. Also, showers will be available that morning at the high school from 6 to 9 a.m.
Haddam, part of Regional School District 17, HaddamKillingworth, closed school Friday, but its middle school is open for showering, warming and charging devices. The Transfer Station has no power, but is open, according to First Selectman Lizz Milardo. It is only accepting brush and tree limbs.
The American Red Cross has opened a shelter at the middle school, and cots will be set up with blankets, Milardo said in a news release Friday night. People are encouraged to bring blankets and pillows, she said.
“Anyone coming to the shelter will receive a hot meal. No pets will be allowed at the shelter except for service dogs.”
“We still have many downed power lines tangled with trees and I know Eversource and our public works department are working on the plan to get those cleared. Our first responders and town crew have worked around the clock for two days to keep Chester safe,” said First Selectwoman Lauren Gister in an email Friday morning. Route 154 has power, she added.
The Tri-Town shelter at John Winthrop Middle School in Deep River is open for sleeping, meals, showers and charging devices. There is no indication of restoration times yet for the majority of the town.
“We are telling people to be safe, come to the shelter if they desire, and above all, stay away from any power lines, even if they don’t think they are live,” Gister said.