Central Maine Power Crews Pour into Mid-coast Communities as Outage Numbers Drops
Sunday evening goal leaves seasonal camps for last
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUGUSTA, Maine November 5, 2017 Crews for Central Maine Power Co. (CMP), a subsidiary of AVANGRID Inc. (NYSE: AGR), a diversified energy and utility company, continue efforts to restore power to the remaining customers who lost service after an historic wind and rain storm hit Maine. As of 4 p.m., the company reports 9,400 customers without power. Some of the remaining customers will not have their power restored this evening. Those remaining accounts include nearly 3,100 seasonal properties that will be among the very last to be restored.
By Saturday evening, CMP had restored service to nearly 460,000 homes and businesses after five days of round-the-clock operations following the windstorm that knocked out power to more than half the homes and businesses in the state. More than 470,000 customers lost power at least once during the event or in the following days. At the storm's peak on Monday, October 30, more than 405,000 customers were without power, surpassing the impact on customers from the 1998 Ice Storm.
"We are concentrating our line crews and tree crews in the remaining communities with outages," said Sara J. Burns, president and CEO of Central Maine Power. "Our crews are cutting their way down narrow roads and driveways to get back one customer at a time, but we will stay on the job until everyone is back on line."
Of the 9,400 remaining outages, Cumberland, Kennebec, Lincoln, and Sagadahoc represent more than 8,700 of the total. Androscoggin, Franklin, Hancock, Knox, Oxford, Penobscot, Piscataquis, and York counties have fewer than 50 outages each. CMP reports that a workforce of more than 3,300 people is working to restore service to the remaining small pockets of customers in cities and towns and on rural roads, coastal peninsulas, and islands across its service territory. Service restoration has also been slowed in areas where flooding or downed trees prevent access, in instances of property damage that requires repairs by homeowners, and to seasonal camps.
Restoration estimates by town are being updated at http://www.cmpco.com/outages/outageinformation.html with the most current information.
CMP reminds drivers to use caution when approaching utility crews. The working conditions are difficult, and the workers appreciate everyone's consideration for their safety.
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Crews work to clear downed trees along a power line in Cape Elizabeth. This is typical of the damage many line and tree crews encounter in the final stages of storm recovery.
About AVANGRID: AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) is a diversified energy and utility company with more than $31 billion in assets and operations in 27 states. The company owns regulated utilities and electricity generation assets through two primary lines of business, Avangrid Networks and Avangrid Renewables. Avangrid Networks is comprised of eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving approximately 3.2 million customers in New York and New England. Avangrid Renewables operates more than 6 gigawatts of owned and controlled renewable generation capacity, primarily through wind and solar, in 22 states across the United States. AVANGRID employs approximately 6,800 people. For more information, visit www.avangrid.com.
About CMP: Central Maine Power Company (CMP) is a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR). As Maine's largest electricity transmission and distribution utility, CMP serves 618,000 homes and businesses, representing about 80% of Maine's customer base. J.D. Power and Associates has ranked the company #1 in customer satisfaction seven times. For more information, visit www.cmpco.com.
Media Contact:
Gail Rice
gail.rice@avangrid.com
207.622.NEWS