CMP responds to Outages Across Service Area

Coastal areas are most heavily impacted, winds continue today

AUGUSTA, Maine — December 1, 2020 – More than 370 line crews and 160 tree crews will be working across the Central Maine Power (CMP) service territory Tuesday, restoring power outages caused by heavy wind and rain Monday night. In addition to CMP crews and in-state contractors, the company has secured the assistance of crews from its sister company in CT, and from VT, NJ and Canada.  With additional customer service and company support staff there are about 1260 employees involved in restoration today. 

The number of power outages peaked at 91,137 at 3:00 AM Tuesday, with a total of 126,000 customers impacted. Tuesday morning, 68,400 remained without power as of 10:00 AM.

“We are focused on restoring as many customers as we can today, as quickly and as safely as possible,” said Kerri Therriault, Director of Electric Operations for CMP.  “While we worked overnight to restore power, we primarily focused on ensuring downed lines and debris were cleared from the streets to ensure public safety. As we can better estimate the time required today to make repairs, we can begin to add estimated restoration times for customers on our website.” 

While the company has reported outages across the service area, the most heavily impacted areas were along the coast in Cumberland and York Counties. Forecasts indicate winds and rain will persist Tuesday, diminishing later in the day. 

CMP continues to observe all COVID-19 safety protocols in storm response including:

- Working in separate teams to minimize contact
- Restricting visitor access to company facilities
- Entering a customer residence only in the event of emergency and after assessing risk
- Maintaining appropriate social distancing in the field
- Allowing one employee per vehicle
- Wearing masks

Customers may use online tools, accessible at www.cmpco.com to report and monitor outages.

If you lose service:

To report an outage, visit Outage Central at cmpco.com. Customers may also report an outage using CMP’s 24/7 automated phone system at 800.696.1000. 

Keep sensitive electronic appliances such as computers, TVs and stereos plugged into a surge protector, or unplug them. They could be damaged if a power surge occurs when electricity is restored.
Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed. For information about food safety, visit http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/refridg_food.html.

For customers with generators:

  • Hire a licensed electrician to install permanent generators and transfer switches.
  • Properly ground all portable generators.
  • Carefully read and observe all instructions in your generator’s operating manual.
  • Never run a generator indoors, or even in an open garage.
  • If your carbon monoxide detector goes off – get out of the building immediately and call 911.
  • Do not store fuel indoors or try to refuel a generator while it’s running.
  • Refer to CMP’s web page on generator safety

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About CMP: Central Maine Power Company (CMP), a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc., is Maine’s largest electricity transmission and distribution utility. Established in 1899 and based in Augusta, Maine, CMP serves approximately 624,000 customers across 346 communities in central and southern Maine. It operates approximately 23,500 miles of distribution lines and 2,900 miles of transmission lines. Over the last decade, the company has invested approximately $2.6 billion in Maine system infrastructure. In 2019, CMP was named Large Business of the Year by the Kennebec Valley United Way. For more information, visit www.cmpco.com.

About AVANGRID: AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) is a leading, sustainable energy company with approximately $34 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states. With headquarters in Orange, Connecticut, AVANGRID has two primary lines of business: Avangrid Networks and Avangrid Renewables. Avangrid Networks owns eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and New England. Avangrid Renewables owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities across the United States. AVANGRID employs approximately 6,600 people. AVANGRID supports the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals and was named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2019 and 2020 by the Ethisphere Institute. For more information, visit www.avangrid.com.

Media Contact:

  • Catharine Hartnett
    catharine.hartnett@avangrid.com
    207.458-3510 (cell)
  • 24/7 Media Hotline
    1.833.MEDIA.55 (833.633.4255)
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