Central Maine Power Restores 100,000 Customers

As outages continue, company advises customers to prepare for multi-day event

AUGUSTA, Maine— November 1, 2019 — Central Maine Power Co. (CMP), a subsidiary of AVANGRID Inc. (NYSE: AGR), has restored more than 100,000 customer outages throughout the day on Friday.  However, because of the ongoing intensity of the wind across the state, new outages are still occurring as tree limbs to continue to fall on lines and utility poles.  

“Our crews and contractors have been in the field since before dawn working with local Emergency Management Officials to clear the roads of debris, and we have also made significant inroads on restoring customers,” said Tom DePeter, senior director of operations for CMP. “However, the wind has kept up all evening, and even as our crews are out working, new outages are occurring.”

Forecasts call for winds to diminish overnight and should not be a factor in restoration work on Saturday.

CMP advises that customers who are still without power this evening should prepare for a multi-day event.

CMP is still assessing damage in order to provide estimates across much of the service territory, but customers may get updates as they are available by calling customer service: 800.696.1000.

Prior to the wind hitting the state late Thursday night, CMP retained nearly 125 contractor crews to work with the 97 CMP employee line crews for initial response.

Restoration priorities:

  • CMP follows an orderly process when restoring service that emphasizes safety and seeks to make effective use of resources. 
  • CMP’s immediate concern after a storm is public safety. Restoration teams work with towns and the state to de-energize downed lines, clear roads and restore previously identified critical facilities such as hospitals and shelters.
  • Next, CMP focuses on assessing damage and repairing the backbone of the electrical system: substations, transmission lines, circuits and primary lines. Crews focus on locations where they can restore large numbers of customers at once.
  • Then, crews restore equipment and lines that serve smaller groups of customers.
  • Finally, crews focus on restoring remaining service lines to individual homes and buildings until every customer has service. This phase may begin while higher-priority work is already underway.

 

If you lose service:

  • To report an outage, visit Outage Central . Customers may also report an outage using CMP’s 24/7 automated phone system at 800.696.1000. 
  • Keep sensitive electronic appliances such as computers, TVs and stereos plugged into a surge protector, or unplug them. They could be damaged if a power surge occurs when electricity is restored.
  • Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed. For information about food safety, visit www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/refridg_food.html. 
  • Never use a stove or oven, or an outdoor grill or heater, as an indoor space heater to stay warm. Only use space heaters intended for indoor use inside or in enclosed spaces, following the manufacturer’s instructions. If you are unable to keep your home safely heated, call Maine 211 for resources.

 

For customers with generators:

  • Hire a licensed electrician to install permanent generators and transfer switches.
  • Properly ground all portable generators.
  • Carefully read and observe all instructions in your generator’s operating manual.
  • Never run a generator indoors, or even in an open garage.
  • If your carbon monoxide detector goes off – get out of the building immediately and call 911.
  • Do not store fuel indoors or try to refuel a generator while it’s running.
  • Refer to CMP’s web page on generator 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  http://www.cmpco.com/Outages/ .

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About CMP: Central Maine Power Company (CMP), a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc., is Maine’s largest electricity transmission and distribution utility. Established in 1899 and based in Augusta, Maine, CMP serves approximately 624,000 customers across 346 communities in central and southern Maine. It operates approximately 23,500 miles of distribution lines and 2,900 miles of transmission lines. Over the last decade, the company has invested approximately $2.6 billion in Maine system infrastructure. In 2019, CMP was named Large Business of the Year by the Kennebec Valley United Way. For more information, visit www.cmpco.com.

About AVANGRID: AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) is a leading, sustainable energy company with approximately $33 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states. AVANGRID has two primary lines of business: Avangrid Networks and Avangrid Renewables. Avangrid Networks owns eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving 3.2 million customers in New York and New England. Avangrid Renewables owns and operates 7.2 gigawatts of electricity capacity, primarily through wind power, with a presence in 22 states across the United States. AVANGRID employs approximately 6,500 people. AVANGRID supports the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals and was named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2019 by the Ethisphere Institute. For more information, visit www.avangrid.com.

Media Contact:

Catharine Hartnett
Catharine.Hartnett@avangrid.com
207.629.1555
1.833.MEDIA.55 (833.633.4255) (after hours)

 

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