Central Maine Power Reaches Final Stretch in Storm Recovery
Utility expects to complete repairs in most areas by late Friday evening
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUGUSTA, MAINE — September 7, 2018 — Crews from Central Maine Power Co. (CMP), a subsidiary of AVANGRID Inc. (NYSE: AGR), have restored power to nearly 95 percent of customers who lost service when strong thunderstorms came through southern and coastal Maine on Thursday. At 4:30 p.m. Friday, fewer than 2,000 customers remained without service. More than 32,000 customer accounts lost power at some point since midday Thursday.
More than 200 lineworkers and scores of support personnel have been working in coastal communities from Freeport to Bristol, plus inland towns including Durham and Lisbon. CMP’s goal is to restore service to all but a few small customer groups and individual customers by late Friday evening.
Wind gusts blew trees from outside the utility’s right of way onto lines, blocking access to scores of roads along the storm’s path. According to published reports, the storm was severe enough for the National Weather Service to send investigators to inspect damage. While they ruled out a tornado, wind gusts of between 70 and 90 miles per hour were reported in Boothbay.
Crews spent much of the early recovery effort making downed lines safe so that public works personnel could restore access for emergency vehicles and other traffic. The utility has been coordinating with the Maine Emergency Management Agency, county emergency management personnel, and municipalities.
“We appreciate our customers’ patience as crews worked through the storm recovery process,” said Tom DePeter, CMP’s senior director for Electric Operations. “We are also grateful to all the state, county, and local emergency response crews who show worked alongside our own people to accomplish a safe, efficient storm response.”
CMP urges customers to continue to stay clear of any downed power lines or fallen trees that may be tangled in lines. It 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, including a town-by-town listing of outages in the CMP service area with an area map, can be found on CMP’s web site at CMP Outages.
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About AVANGRID: AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) is a leading, sustainable energy company with $31 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states. AVANGRID has two primary lines of business: Avangrid Networks and Avangrid Renewables. Avangrid Networks owns eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving 3.2 million customers in New York and New England. Avangrid Renewables owns and operates 7.1 gigawatts of electricity capacity, primarily through wind power, with a presence in 22 states across the United States. AVANGRID employs approximately 6,500 people. AVANGRID supports the U.N.’s Sustainability Development Goals, received a Climate Development Project climate score of “A-,” the top score received in the utilities sector, and has been recognized for two consecutive years by Ethical Boardroom as the North American utility with the “best corporate governance practices.” For more information, visit www.avangrid.com.
About CMP: Central Maine Power Company (CMP), a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc., is Maine’s largest electricity transmission and distribution utility. Established in 1899, CMP operates approximately 23,500 miles of distribution lines and 2,900 miles of transmission lines. It serves approximately 624,000 customers across 346 communities in central and southern Maine. For more information, visit www.cmpco.com.
Media Contact:
Gail Rice
gail.rice@avangrid.com
207.622.NEWS