CMP crews cut storm outages by more than 50,000 in eight hours
CMP News
Central Maine Power Company, 83 Edison Drive, Augusta, ME 04336 (207) 622-NEWS
Corporate Communications - corpcomm@cmpco.com
Release: Immediate
Media Contacts: Gail Rice, 207.622.NEWS, gail.rice@cmpco.com
CMP crews cut storm outages by more than 50,000 in eight hours
AUGUSTA, Maine, November 27, 2014, 4:30 p.m. " Central Maine Power Company (CMP), a subsidiary of Iberdrola USA, reports significant progress as its crews have worked through Thanksgiving Day to restore power to more than 50,000 homes and businesses. As of 4:30 p.m. the company's crews have reduced the number outages to fewer than 50,000, and the company expects to make more progress as its crew work through the evening. The number of outages had reached a peak of nearly 104,000 around 8:30 on Thursday morning.
"Our employees and contractors reported in first thing this morning, so we've had nearly 1,000 people working through the holiday," said Gail Rice, spokesperson for Central Maine Power. "We won't be able to bring everyone back today, but we expect to cut the number of outages by well over half from where we started the day. We will also complete our damage assessment, repair the damage to our transmission system, restore power to all critical facilities, and re-establish service along most of the major distribution lines that serve large concentrations of residential and commercial customers."
At CMP's request, Governor LePage issued a Declaration of Emergency late Wednesday night which allowed utility crews from Canada to drive longer hours during the night to reach Maine this morning. The company has brought in 60 line crews from Canada, and has been able to dispatch helicopters to inspect damage along its transmission corridors.
"One challenge for the day has been finding meals for everyone, because so many businesses are closed," said Rice, "but we've also had a number of small restaurants volunteer to open up and make some hot turkey dinners for the crews. We are very grateful for their support."
Following is a list of outages by county:
York: 21,321
Cumberland: 12,482
Lincoln: 7,032
Sagadahoc: 5,061
Androscoggin: 1,391
Kennebec: 1,265
Knox: 329
Oxford: 240
Hancock: 70
Waldo: 68
Somerset: 25
CMP Total: 49,284
CMP 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 is on CMP's web site at www.cmpco.com.
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About Central Maine Power Company (CMP): Central Maine Power Company, a subsidiary of Iberdrola USA, is Maine's largest electricity transmission and distribution utility. The company delivers about 9 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually to more than 600,000 homes and businesses, representing about 80% of Maine's annual consumer sales of electricity. The company has been ranked #1 in customer satisfaction six times by J.D. Power and Associates. For more information, visit www.cmpco.com/.
About Iberdrola USA: Iberdrola USA is the U.S. subsidiary of global energy leader Iberdrola, S.A. The Iberdrola USA companies employ about 5,000 people with operations in 24 states from New England to the West Coast, providing electricity generation, transmission and distribution, natural gas storage and distribution, and energy services. For more information, please visit our website: www.iberdrolausa.com. Follow us on Twitter: @IberdrolaUSA