Restoration Work Continues for CL&P

Connecticut Light & Power officials said Monday evening that the utility had restored power to more than 204,000 customers throughout the state, but that it still had hundreds of thousands of more customers who remained in the dark from this weekend's freak snowstorm that knocked out power for more than 831,000 CL&P customers. 

"We expect the pace of restoration to quicken as damage assessments are completed, blocked roads are cleared and additional crews arrive to help with the effort," Jeff Butler, CL&P’s president and chief operating officer, said in an email Monday evening. "Our projection for complete restoration remains the same: we expect it to take a week or more in some areas. We will continue bringing in more crews to improve on that projection. And we will provide more detailed restoration estimates as soon as we have sufficient information to offer specific projections – most likely tomorrow morning for many of the towns in the southwest and eastern sections of the state." 

There are many areas of the state that still have roads blocked or areas that are currently inaccessible to crews, according to the utility, which is hindering restoration and assessment efforts. The problem is particularly pronounced in the northwest and north central parts of the state, according to CL&P, and restoration efforts for those areas cannot be issued until assessments are completed. 

CL&P said that one main difference between this weekend's storm and Tropical Storm Irene is that a number of transmission lines were damaged in the most recent storm, causing many more customers to lose power. Transmission lines convey power from generating plants to the distribution grid. CL&P said it is concentrating its efforts on restoring the transmission lines and have already restored 13 of the 44 damaged lines. 

As of 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, CL&P was reporting 685,490 customers statewide, or roughly 55 percent, were still without power. Click here to see CL&P’s full outage map.

CL&P also offered these safety tips while power is being restored: 

•  If you come across a downed line, consider it to be live and dangerous. Call 911 immediately and report it. Always stay at least 10 feet away from the downed wire. 
• Customers who are using home generators need to ensure that the generators are installed properly, otherwise it can cause power to "backfeed," or flow back into the power lines, creating a dangerous situation for both the public and crews who may be working to restore power. CL&P recommends that a qualified electrician connect the generator with a transfer switch, so that it is not connected directly to your home’s wiring.
• To avoid the accumulation of deadly carbon monoxide, only use a generator outdoors. Never use a generator indoors, in an attached garage, a basement, or a crawl space. Avoid using a generator in a partially enclosed inhabited space, even if it is ventilated; opening doors and windows or using fans will not prevent carbon monoxide build-up. If placing it outdoors, make sure the generator is far from a home's doors, windows and vents.