CMP and MEMA Preparing for 2025 Winter Storm Season
Coordination meeting reviewed best practices and lessons learned from extreme storms in 2023 and 2024
Augusta, ME —October 29, 2024 – Central Maine Power (CMP) today hosted representatives from the Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) as well as county and local emergency management agencies for a coordination meeting at its headquarters in Augusta.
This meeting brought together ten partner agencies for a discussion with the utility on how to best prepare ahead of the 2024-2025 winter storm season. Members of CMP’s emergency response team reviewed best practices for large-scale responses and shared lessons learned from the three major storms that struck in the past year – the major windstorm in December 2023, the ice storm in March 2024 and the nor’easter in April 2024.
“We are eager to continue working with partners like CMP to strategize best practices for the coming winter season,” said MEMA Director, Peter Rogers. “It’s important that we work closely during storms and power outages to ensure that folks get their power restored as quickly as possible while line crews and first responders work in safe conditions.”
“We coordinate with all of Maine’s EMAs on a regular basis and are in constant contact during extreme weather events to help clear roads blocked by trees and make emergency scenes safe. This is one of the first and most critical parts of our large-scale power restoration process,” said Adam Desrosiers, Vice President of Electric Operations for CMP. “Having another, in-depth review of our partnerships together helps us make sure we can serve Mainers and our customers at the highest level when they need us most.”
For every storm, CMP follows a specific process to prepare by tracking weather forecasts, prestaging crews and restoring power as quickly and safely as possible. Maine EMAs can inform CMP about important roads blocked by trees that need to be cleared for emergency vehicles and other first responder priorities throughout storms so we can support Maine communities and their emergency services. During the major ice storm that impacted CMP’s service area this past March, CMP responded to more than 875 of these calls.
Ahead of the 2024-2025 winter storm season, CMP customers can review educational materials on the company’s storm restoration process including this video. The company also produced a podcast highlighting our EMA partnership with York County EMA Deputy Director, Megan Arsenault.
Apple Podcasts: On the Line: Part 2: How We Respond to Storms on Apple Podcasts
Spotify: Part 2: How We Respond to Storms - On the Line | Podcast on Spotify
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About Central Maine Power: 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 646,000 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 $3.5 billion in Maine system infrastructure. For more information, visit www.cmpco.com.
About Avangrid: Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) aspires to be the leading sustainable energy company in the United States. Headquartered in Orange, CT with approximately $46 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states, Avangrid has two primary lines of business: networks and renewables. Through its networks business, Avangrid owns and operates eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and New England. Through its renewables business, Avangrid owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities across the United States. Avangrid employs approximately 8,000 people and has been recognized by JUST Capital as one of the JUST 100 companies – a ranking of America’s best corporate citizens – in 2024 for the fourth consecutive year. In 2024, Avangrid ranked first among utilities and 12 overall. The company supports the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals and was named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2024 for the sixth consecutive year by the Ethisphere Institute. Avangrid is a member of the group of companies controlled by Iberdrola, S.A. For more information, visit www.avangrid.com.