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 restoration continues
High winds and falling trees take down more than 200 utility poles

AUGUSTA, Maine, April 17, 2007 Central Maine Power has restored power to more than 56,000 customer accounts as of 5:00 p.m. today. At the storm's peak, 127,585 customer accounts were without power. The company expects to restore power to most customers in northern and western areas of the state by late tonight. Many of the remaining 71,000 customers from Kittery to Owls Head are facing a second night without power, and CMP is warning that the restoration work may extend to the end of the week in some coastal communities.

The Maine Emergency Management Agency has established emergency shelters in many communities. A list of shelters is available from county emergency management agencies and on the CMP website at www.cmpco.com.

The storm caused extensive damage along the coast, where Monday's high winds continued through the night and for much of the day on Tuesday. CMP crews spent of much of yesterday and today responding to emergency calls to de-energize damaged lines so crews could clear downed wires, poles, and trees from the roadway. The company's damage assessment crews had found 206 broken poles by mid-day Tuesday.

Reinforcement crews from around the northeast have been arriving in the area throughout the day, including utility workers from northern Maine and the Canadian Maritimes, as well as tree removal crews from as far away as Long Island and western New York state, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. By mid-afternoon, more than 825 line workers, tree removal specialists, and field planners were at work on repairs, backed up by another 300 support personnel at the company's regional offices. The company will rotate many crews to rest later tonight, although some crews will continue working through the night.

Following is a breakdown of outages by Service Center. Each Service Center includes the city or town listed and about a dozen surrounding communities. A map showing the service areas is available on the company's outage page on its website at www.cmpco.com.

Alfred - 14,000
Augusta - 25
Bridgton - 150
Brunswick - 28,500
Dover - 350
Farmington - 170
Lewiston - 35
Portland - 23,000
Rockland - 3,500
Skowhegan - 1,200

Next update: 9:30 p.m.

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 —