Neighbors In Noank Organize Over Years of Power Outages

A group of neighbors from Noank have organized to demand an explanation for years of power outages in their neighborhood and a long-term remedy to the situation.

About 15 neighbors held their first organizational meeting Thursday night at Groton Public Library to compare notes about outages they said have gone on for decades.

“I want reliable power, period,” said John Menezes, of Seneca Drive.

Outages have been a particular issue in the Tanglewood neighborhood of Noank, which includes about 150 homes, neighbors said.

Mitch Gross, spokesman for Connecticut Light &Power, said in January there was a problem in Noank, but it's been fixed. He said the company completed a major upgrade in October, trimming trees and improving equipment.

Emergency Communications Director Joe Sastre said police have reported almost no outages since the upgrade was done.

“They can’t resolve what’s happened in the past,” he said of the utility. Sastre said outages have occurred as a result of incidents that cannot be helped, like drivers striking telephone poles, bad weather and squirrels invading transformers.

Neighbors at the meeting were not convinced.

“They have a 50-year history of providing terrible service,” said Dave Falvey, leader of the group. Falvey said he will inquire about whether the neighborhood can leave CL&P and can obtain services instead from Groton Utilities, a municipal power company in the city. It was unclear Thursday night whether this would be legal or possible.

The town’s emergency dispatch center reported 92 incidents of wires down in 2009 and 120 incidents in 2010, not including duplicate calls about the same line, according to a report released this winter.

The neighbors are circulating a petition asking for all governing bodies and agencies to investigate the problem, issue a report on its cause and provide specific recommendations for improvements.

Group members also plan to ask for a meeting with CL&P and with Groton Utilities.

Town Councilor Paulann Sheets, who attended the meeting Thursday along with State Rep. Elissa Wright, who said she was there to listen, said one potential issue is tree trimming.

Sheets said utilities don’t like to trim trees, so it helps if a vocal and organized group demands it.

“It costs money, it’s labor intensive and it’s continuous,” she said.

From August until October, CL&P spent about $110,000 repairing bare lines with heavily insulated ones, Town Manager Mark Oefinger said in January. The company also replaced equipment similar to circuit breakers with newer technology and cut back branches.

Neighbors said that for years they would lose their electricity even on sunny days for no apparent reason, and see lights on in Groton Long Point, Mumford Cove and the Poquonnock Bridge area.

Rick Dickson, who lives on Seneca Drive, said he's called the utility, and they always provide a reason for outages: a squirrel, a branch or a drunk driver.

“They explained it. That doesn’t make it better,” Dickson said. “What I’d like to know is how far they’re going to remedy it.”

Lynn Hubbard, a member of Representative Town Meeting, said she does not understand why there would be more squirrels in her neighborhood than anywhere else.

“We’re not asking for much,” she said. “We pay our bills on time. Why can’t we get service?”