CL&P: 99.9 Percent of Greenwich to Have Power Back by Saturday [Update]

Update 8:00 p.m. (Wednesday):

CL&P officials said power will be restored to 99.9 percent of customers in Greenwich by 11 p.m. Saturday, town officials said in an update released at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

As of 7:30 p.m., there were about 5,978 CL&P customers in town without electrical service, down from 6,303 at 10:30 a.m., the release states. There were 266,536 customers without power throughout the State.

As reported on Patch, CL&P has to Greenwich to help expedite the power restoration process. That's in addition to the 12 lines crews and 15 tree crews already working around town.

For those residents who have found CL&P's response to be insufficient to the task at hand, complaints can be made to the Public Utility Regulatory Agency (PURA) of the State of Connecticut by calling 800-382-4586 or online at http://www.ct.gov/dpuc/cwp/view.asp?a=3352&q=404030.

Town officials said there were 68 trees down in town that needed to be addressed. In addition there are eight complete road blockages and nine partial road blockages.

The Town has cleared over 292 blockages since the recovery effort began, the release states.

Update 3:00 p.m. (Wednesday):

As of 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, there were about 6,303 CL&P customers in the Town of Greenwich without electrical service, down from 7,528 at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, town officials said in a statement. There are 306,059 customers without power throughout the State, town officials said.

Town officials said CL&P will be bringing nine extra line crews into Greenwich at 3 p.m. today in an effort to expedite power restoration. The nine additional line crews will join the 12 which have already been working around town since Monday morning. In addition CL&P has deployed 15 tree crews in town — that's in addition to crews from the town Department of Public Works, which are responsible for clearing debris from roadways and town owned facilities.

As of 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, the Town had identified 23 complete road blockages and seven partial road blockages. To access an updated list of road blockages, click here.

According to CL&P's Outage Map, which is reportedly updated every 15 minutes, there were 5,953 customers (or about 21 percent of customers) without power in town as of 2 p.m.

Meanwhile CL&P has feature to its website that gives customers updated power restoration projections (click "My Outage Status;" registration required) so they can anticipate when their homes will be getting power back.

Update 11:45 p.m. (Tuesday):

As of 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, there were 7,528 Connecticut Light and Power customers in the Town of Greenwich without electrical service — down from 9,544 at 1 p.m., Tuesday; and down from 13,684 at 9 p.m. Sunday, right after Hurricane Irene cleared out, according to a press release.

That means CL&P crews have now cut the number of power outages in town by about half.

According to the release, there were 357,879 customers without power throughout the State as of 5:30 p.m., Tuesday.

There were still about 145 trees down throughout town at 5:30 p.m., the release states.

As of 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Town had identified 56 complete road closures and 18 partial road closures.

As of 11:45 p.m., CL&P's outage map was showing that there are about 6,779 CL&P customers without power in Greenwich.

Residents have been warned to consider all downed power lines "live."

Update 5 p.m. (Tuesday):

The American Red Cross has reportedly established a relief station for Greenwich residents without electricity at the fire station located at 33 Bedford/Banksville Road on North Street, just over the New York State Line.

From 6 to 7 p.m., today, representatives of the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Services will be onsite at the Banksville fire station and will make drinking water, food and refreshments available. Further, representatives from Greenwich Emergency Medical Service (GEMS) will be present to assist residents with special medical needs. Water will also be made available to residents who bring their own container for filling to flush toilets." 

Update 3 p.m. (Tuesday):

As of 2:15 p.m., Tuesday, about 9,544 CL&P customers remained without power as a result of Hurricane Irene, according to a statement issued by the Town.

Currently there are 404,147 customers without power throughout the State, according to the town's release.

Meanwhile CL&P's outage map is showing, as of 3 p.m., that there are about 8,014 CL&P customers without power in Greenwich.

CL&P "customers" include both homes and businesses.

According to the town's release, First Selectman Peter Tesei met with Kenneth Bowes, CL&P vice president for customer operations, regarding the current magnitude of the response.

"Mr. Tesei insisted that given the frequency of outages that Greenwich residents endure, the current allocation of crews to Greenwich is not equal to the task at hand," the release states. "There are 160 trees that currently need to be addressed throughout Town. Greenwich employees have cleared 150 road blockages since 4 p.m. yesterday. The Town has cleared a total of 233 blockages so far during the storm response. The Town cannot remove trees in the road if there are wires involved without Connecticut Light and Power’s assistance."

The release, however, does not indicate whether CL&P will be increasing its efforts in Greenwich as a result of Tesei's request.

As of 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, the Town had identified 58 complete road closures and 22 partial road closures. For a complete list of street blockages click here.

In addition the town is reminding residents that portable generators should only be used outdoors.

"Having your garage door open is not sufficiently safe," the release states. "Carbon monoxide is odorless, tasteless and deadly."

Update 5:50 a.m. (Tuesday):

As of 5 a.m., 8,760 CL&P customers remained without power, according to CL&P's outage map. The figure means that power has been restored to more than 2,000 homes in town since Monday afternoon.

Update 8:30 p.m.:

Based on a late afternoon briefing that included emergency response, public works and municipal officials throughout the state, Greenwich First Selectman Peter Tesei said town customers of the utility should expect power to be restored no sooner than Thursday afternoon.

"The First Selectman has informed CL&P executives that he believes the magnitude of the response is not reflective of the severity of the situation Greenwich businesses and residents are currently enduring," according to a press release issued Monday night by Tesei's office.

According to the release, CL&P has deployed 16 line crews and 10 tree crews to address the to Greenwich residences. These crews work on 16 hour schedules, with 20 of those crews working during the day and six working through the night, the press release said.

As of 7:15 p.m. Monday, Greenwich had 176 trees down, the release said. The town had cleared 83 road blockages since 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon, it said.

"The Town cannot remove trees in the road if there are wires involved without Connecticut Light and Power’s assistance," the release said.

"As of 5:45 p.m. on Monday, the Town has identified 75 complete road closures and 32 partial road closures," it continued. The list of closed roads is attached.

Residents are encouraged monitor the Board of Education website for updated school opening and closing information.

According to the release, Greenwich Point and Byram Park will open Tuesday, though not for swimming.

"As we all work to clean up in the aftermath of the hurricane, please assist that Town by refraining from placing your yard waste and storm debris in the right of way," the press release said. "The Department of Public Works will not remove debris that from private property."

For additional information, residents are encouraged to contact Caroline Baisley, Director of Heath at 622 7836 (cbaisley@greenwichct.org) or Dan Warzoha, Emergency Management Director at 622 2222 (emoc@greenwichct.org).

Update 3:20 p.m.:

CL&P is reporting that 10,988 Greenwich homes remain without power, meaning approximately power has been restored to approximately 1,500 CL&P clients in town since late morning.

About 170,000 CL&P customers have gotten their power restored and about 50,000 United Illuminating customers have their electricity back, as residents and businesses across the state struggle to return to normal the day after Hurricane Irene, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced Monday afternoon at the State Armory, during an update on the aftermath of the storm.

“Now we begin the process of getting back to normal as quickly as we can,” Malloy said.

Despite the progress in restoring power to some, nearly 600,000 CL&P customers remain without electricity today, along with 107,000 customers of United Illuminating.

Update 9:30 a.m.:

As of 9:30 a.m. Monday, 12,356 homes in town—about 44 percent of Greenwich homes served by Connecticut Light & Power—remained without power, the utility said.

Original Story:

At 9 p.m. Sunday, about half of Greenwich’s homes — 13,684 in total — remained without power, according to Connecticut Light & Power.

Officials at Greenwich Public Schools said school and all related activities have been cancel for Monday.

CL&P said about 800 line and tree crews from as far away as Florida, Ohio and Michigan are being deployed to start the power restoration process in the Nutmeg state.

"At the peak, the storm left more than 622,000 CL&P customers without power," CL&P officials said. "This sets a record, surpassing the 477,000 CL&P customers who lost power from Hurricane Gloria in 1985."

Greenwich officials on Saturday as an emergency shelter. The told Patch Sunday night that it had zero open rooms and was booked through the end of the week. in Stamford—just beyond Rosa Hartman Park in Old Greenwich—has rooms available Tuesday.

High winds and rain brought , and areas of Old Greenwich saw , as well as the . As reported, closed 85 roads (see complete list below) and partially closed 35 others.

See Greenwich Patch’s for real-time updates on Hurricane Irene’s aftermath in town and throughout the county.