CL&P: Monroe Customers Without Power Drops to 70%

The number of those without electricity in Monroe fluctuated throughout during the day Tuesday, according to Connecticut Light & Power's outage map, starting with 63% in the morning before climbing up to 75%. As of 10 p.m., it has fallen to 70%.

Several news stories have reported progress by CL&P crews and its contractors since Tropical Storm Irene knocked out power to a significant number of homes and businesses in the region, but improvement in Monroe has been at a crawl.

CL&P issued another press release on Tuesday night about its overall progress. In the first two days following the storm, CL&P has restored power to over 500,000 customers, though 354,000 customers remain without power as of 8 p.m., according to the company.

"We've made good progress today working with the state and towns and realize there's still a lot of work to be done," said Jeff Butler, president and chief operating officer, CL&P. "We understand how difficult the loss of power is on all our customers and appreciate their patience. Many of our employees working this restoration are also customers who are returning to homes without power."

As of Tuesday afternoon, 900 line and tree crews were working across the state with additional crews arriving daily. By Friday, Butler said CL&P expects to have nearly 1,200 crews working to restore power to its customers, "making this the largest single contingent of crews in Connecticut history."

"Tonight, we've begun providing restoration estimates by town. Estimates will be available first for towns on the western side of the state where damage was less severe and assessments were completed more quickly," the press release stated.  

Over the next 48 hours, CL&P said it will focus first on working with the state and towns to restore power to critical customers including schools, waste water treatment plants, communication facilities and other town priorities. In the hardest hit towns, the power company said it is also focused on restoring town centers, which will be critical in providing people with important services.

Safety Tips

For your safety, CL&P also reminds customers to NEVER touch a downed line and stay at least 10 feet away from all wires. Assume any downed, hanging or burning power lines are live and dangerous.  Call 9-1-1 immediately with any emergency condition.  If you are using a generator, make sure it has been installed properly and never use it indoors or in partially enclosed spaces.  

To report outages or check the status of an outage, visit cl-p.com or call 800-286-2000.  Our automated phone and online systems can rapidly process your report and help us speed restoration efforts. For helpful tips and news updates, go to our website at cl-p.com, follow us on Twitter@CTLightandPower and like us at Facebook.com/CTLightandPower. You can also get updates on outages in your town by texting “outage” and your zip code to 24612 (texting fees may apply).