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 crews gaining ground

AUGUSTA, Maine, April 18, 2007  Central Maine Power Company has restored service to more than 60 percent of the customers who lost power after the Patriots Day storm. As of noon, an estimated 48,000 customer accounts remained without service, down from Monday afternoon's peak of 127,585 customer accounts.

"We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but we've gotten the power back on for more than 55,000 customer accounts in the past twenty-four hours." said CMP spokesman John Carroll. "We had crews coming in from out-of-state yesterday and last night, and we may have as many as 60 additional line crews here by mid-day. It's certainly a welcome relief for our crews, who are working their third major storm in as many weeks."

The reinforcements include 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, nearly 1,000 line workers, tree removal specialists, and field planners were at work on repairs, backed up by another 300 plus support personnel at the company's regional offices. The company expects as many as 60 additional outside crews will join the growing workforce by mid-day today.

By Wednesday morning, the company's damage assessment crews had found more than 250 broken utility poles. CMP continues to caution that the restoration work may extend to the end of the week in some coastal communities.

CMP also asks drivers to use caution when approaching utility crews in the roadway.

"With all the crews on the roadside over these next few days, we hope people will use extra care when passing a worksite," said Carroll. "The crews appreciate everyone's consideration when they're on the job. It lets them focus on getting the job done safely and efficiently."

"A lot of people will find their lights back on when they get home tonight, but we haven't lost sight of the fact that many customers may be spending a third night without power," said Carroll. "We'll continue to work around the clock until we've restored service to all of them."

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. For those customers who intend to stay in their homes, CMP reminds customers to use observe these tips for their safety:

• Never use grills or camp stoves indoors  they can give off dangerous gases.
• For customers with generators:
  • Carefully read and observe all instructions in your generator's owner manual.
  • Don't run a generator indoors, even in an open garage.
  • Hire a licensed electrician to install permanent generators and transfer switches.
  • Make sure portable generators are properly grounded.
  • Don't store fuel indoors or try to refuel a generator while it's running.
  • Refer to CMP's web page on generator safety: http://www.cmpco.com/safety/generator.html.

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 - 9,300
Brunswick - 22,500
Dover - 15
Farmington - 21
Portland - 14,190
Rockland - 1,900
Skowhegan - 30

Next update at 4:30 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 —