Central Maine Power Approaches Halfway Mark in Storm Recovery

 

 Additional Crews Head to Maine From Throughout the Northeast

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

AUGUSTA, Maine  November 1, 2017  Central Maine Power Co. (CMP), a subsidiary of AVANGRID Inc. (NYSE: AGR), a diversified energy and utility company, has an estimated 1,800 people working on storm recovery today. At 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, an estimated 220,000 homes and businesses remained without service following a wind and rain storm that hit Maine earlier this week. That is down from a peak of 404,000 at midday Monday.


"This storm has been unprecedented; no single storm has caused a higher number of outages, said CMP President and CEO Sara Burns. We restored service to more than 100,000 customer accounts yesterday and expect good progress today towards our Saturday goal to complete the restoration in all but a few remote or inaccessible locations."


The company expects to have service restored to the majority of customers by late Saturday. The only exceptions could be homes on remote camp lines and in areas where flooding or downed trees prevent access. Preliminary estimated restoration times will be listed when they're available on the company's website: http://www.cmpco.com/outages/outageinformation.html.


The company's workforce of an estimated 1,800 people includes tree clearing crews, line and substation repair crews, and safety, logistics, assessors, and mechanical repair personnel. Additional line and tree workers have come from as far away as Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia.


Our crews are working as quickly and safely as possible, and we ask people to refrain from approaching them with questions that can slow their work and create safety concerns, said CMP spokesperson Gail Rice. We encourage customers to go to our website for restoration updates, and let our crews focus on safety as they go about their tasks.


CMP offers customers the following tips to stay safe and comfortable.


During a power interruption: 

  • Bookmark the Outage Central page at CMP Outage (mobile friendly at https://m.cmpco.com/mt/www.cmpco.com) and follow us on Facebook and Twitter for current outage and safety information.

  • When using an emergency heating source, like a wood stove, fireplace, or kerosene heater, keep fuels away from the flames and be sure to ventilate properly. 
  • Never use grills or camp stoves indoors they can give off dangerous gases 
  • Keep refrigerators and freezers closed as much as possible. Most food will last 24 hours or longer if you minimize the opening of refrigerator and freezer doors. 
  • Turn off or unplug major appliances to avoid overloading circuits when power is restored.

After power is restored:

  • Turn on appliances and sensitive electronic equipment one at a time to avoid overloading circuits.
  • If a basement or home was flooded, have an electrician check the home before contacting CMP to have services turned on.
    Replenish any emergency supplies used during the storm.
  • CMP urges customers to stay clear of any downed power lines or fallen trees that may be tangled in lines. It also reminds drivers to use caution when approaching utility crews. The working conditions are difficult, and the workers appreciate everyone's consideration for their safety.


Additional information on storm safety and restoration, including a town-by-town listing of outages in the CMP service area with an area map, can be found on CMP's web site at www.cmpco.com.


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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

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