The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Left in the dark
Eversource filing shows ‘critical’ facilities had no power for days after Isaias
The lights went out first at a Stop & Shop store in “mid-country” Greenwich, among Eversource customers statewide labeled with the “critical” tag for priority restoration efforts. Crews took less than a day and a half to identify and fix the circuit failure.
But as Tropical Storm Isaias winds blew harder heading into the afternoon and evening hours on Aug. 4, plenty more would follow, and for ever-longer stretches: Stamford Hospital; Aquarion water plants in New Canaan, Westport and Newtown; and police stations in more than a dozen towns including Bethel, Brookfield and Redding.
In all, more than 1,100 such facilities lost power during Tropical Storm Isaias — with close to a third of those left in the dark more than four days, ranging from supermarkets and pharmacies, to fire departments and emergency medical services, to nursing homes and dialysis centers.
Eversource filed its restoration times for critical facilities last week with the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, as part of an ongoing PURA probe into the preparation and responses of Eversource and Avangrid subsidiary United Illuminating to Isaias, which left some customers without power more than a week.
More than 35,000 customers got a fresh reminder of the inconveniences of lost power even for short durations, after a derecho band of high winds raced through Connecticut on Sunday night. On Monday and Tuesday, customers voiced fresh complaints to PURA and on Facebook of problems they encountered reporting outages using Eversource’s online system and call center.
An Eversource spokesperson did not provide comment immediately Tuesday on whether the company is revising its policies on power restoration for critical facilities, given some of the lags evident after Isaias with more than 30 such locations out of power for seven days or more.
In a PURA filing summarizing its policies, Eversource stated its top priority is on “make safe” work to clear roads for police, fire and ambulances responding to immediate emergencies, then move on to other roads blocked by wires. Critical facilities — so designated at the request of municipal leaders — are next on the list, followed by downed power lines that serve the largest numbers of customers.
Eversource stated the make-safe model emerged from the 2012 storm Sandy and that it provides a framework for restoration priorities, but “does not resolve all issues ... given that each storm event is occasioned by wholly unique and individual circumstances” in its words.
Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton and town officials throughout Connecticut had sharp criticism for Eversource and United Illuminating’s responsiveness after Isaias. In formal testimony this month to PURA, Ridgefield First Selectman Rudy Marconi rattled off a list of critical facilities that faced long delays, which he said put the health and safety of residents at risk.
“There is a senior housing facility in the center of (Ridgefield). Eversource did not restore power there until Sunday, Aug. 9,” Marconi stated. “Because of the medical needs of many of the residents, including some who required oxygen, and the stifling heat during these days, Eversource’s failure threatened the lives of these senior residents.”
In response, the Connecticut General Assembly passed a “take back the grid” act signed into law in October by Gov. Ned Lamont. Under the law, Eversource and United Illuminating can be forced to reimburse customers for spoiled food and medicine and inconveniences as a result of outages lasting more than four days.
As of this week, PURA staff continued to request additional information of Eversource and Avangrid, in advance of sweeping new regulations next year as a result of the law which also addresses the prices customers pay for electricity.