CMP News

Central Maine Power Company, 83 Edison Drive, Augusta, ME 04336 (207) 622-NEWS

Corporate Communications - corpcomm@cmpco.com 

Release: Immediate - An Energy East Company

CMP reports few outages during blizzard
Utility cautions that strong winds could cause scattered problems Thursday

AUGUSTA, Maine, February 15, 2007 11:00 a.m. Central Maine Power Company is reporting that its system held up well during what weather experts call the worst snowstorm to hit Maine in two years. The utility experienced a few scattered power outages in southern and coastal areas Wednesday night and Thursday, but most of them were restored within a couple of hours.

"We're always working to keep the system reliable and to respond quickly when things do go wrong," said spokesman John Carroll. "Customers see our crews doing maintenance, installing new equipment, and pruning roadside trees all year long, and here's where they can see the results."

CMP reported about 1,700 customers in the Georgetown area were without service early Thursday morning, and a few other scattered outages were reported in parts of southern Maine. Utility officials say difficult road conditions have been a challenge, but they still expect to restore power for those customers by early afternoon.

Fewer than 100 customer accounts remained without service as of midday Thursday. The company is warning that forecasts for winds to strengthen could cause new outages on Thursday.

"Our maintenance program keeps the system reliable under some pretty harsh conditions, but in strong, gusting winds and really cold temperatures, large limbs and whole trees can just snap," said Carroll. "With 25,000 miles of power lines, some of those are likely to fall on our equipment, so we'll have crews ready to respond should outages occur."

About CMP: Central Maine Power, a subsidiary of Energy East Corporation, operates more than 20,000 miles of power lines and other facilities that deliver electricity to 80 percent of Maine's population. Web site: www.cmpco.com.

About Energy East: Energy East Corporation [NYSE: EAS] is a respected super-regional energy services and delivery company that our customers can depend on every day. We are a motivated and skilled team of professionals dedicated to creating shareholder value through our focus on profitable growth, operational excellence and strong customer partnerships. We serve about 3 million customers throughout upstate New York and New England.

— CMP —