Power Restored in Greenwich; GHS After-School Activities On

Update 1:20 p.m.

Power has been restored to virtually all Greenwich customers of CL&P, according to the utility's outage report online.

Here's an email that went out earlier today to GHS parents from Headmaster Chris Winters:

Dear Parents,                                                    November 30, 2011

All after-school activities will proceed according to the original schedule.

We are sorry about the inconvenience caused by today’s power outage. At approximately 8:30, the power went out and our backup generators did not turn on. We safely exited all students from the building following a normal fire drill procedure. At 9:00, we brought the students back into the building, primarily for warmth, with the 10-12 grade students in the Student Center and the 9th Grade students in the gym. At 9:30, we dismissed all students. Shortly after the majority of students had exited, the power came back on. At that point, it was too late to bring them back into the building.

Thank you for your patience and flexibility. Our students demonstrated yet again that in a mini crisis situation, they are mature enough to act responsibly.

Thank you,

Chris Winters, GHS Headmaster

Update 12:30 p.m.

CL&P spokesman Mitch Gross told Patch that a power substation problem in Old Greenwich near the Stamford border caused the latest round of outages. The problem is unrelated to the equipment difficulty that caused outages this morning.

Power is expected to be restored shortly, Gross said, to the 6,606 customers currently experiencing difficulties.

Nearly all of those outages are in eastern Greenwich neighborhoods such as Old Greenwich and Riverside, Gross said.

Update 12 p.m.

As of 12 p.m., 6,613 Greenwich customers of CL&P—about 23 percent of the utility's total customer base in town—are without power. That's up from 2 percent just two hours ago, when CL&P said an equipment problem in Stamford caused widespread outages and prompted schools officials to release Greenwich High School students early.

Patch will have details on these outages as they become available.

Update 10:20 a.m.

CL&P spokesman Mitch Gross said this morning’s power outages in Greenwich were caused by an equipment problem at a substation Stamford that affected a transmission line that delivers power into Greenwich.

“As far as I know, repairs have been made and customers should be OK,” Gross said.

The utility’s outage map shows that 604 Greenwich customers remain without power, about 2 percent of CL&P customers in town.

Original Story

According to the Greenwich Public Schools website: "Greenwich High School has closed releasing students at 9:30AM today, Wednesday, November 30, 2011, due to a power outage. Decisions about after school activites will be made by 1:00PM."

At abou 8:45 a.m., Patch received reports that GHS students had been gathered in the football field because of power outages in the school.

Schools spokesperson Kim Eves said in an email that the high school was informed it would be without power for at least two to three hours.

According to Connecticut Light & Power's website, 42 percent of Greenwich customers—about 11,961 total customers—are currently without power.

A call to CL&P's media spokesperson was not immediately returned.

The widespread outages come about six weeks after a caused half the town to lose power for several hours on a weekday morning.

GHS 10th grader Jordann Lettera said, "I was in her first block class around 8:15AM when the lights went out and shouts went out, 'Woot,' and we all had to go outside."

Eleventh grader, Elizabeth Dalton confessed, "I guess I'm happy. I'm missing a pre-calculus test."

At about 9:10AM, Headmaster Winters made an announcement over a public address system that echoed across the concourse outside the main entrance. He stated that school buses would take students home at 9:30AM but that after-school activities would take place at 1:00PM.

At that news, hundreds of mostly exuberant students eagerly texted news to their parents and friends. "Who'd want to come back at one o' clock if they got to go home at 9:30?" one girl complained. "We all think that's dumb," she said, preferring to stay anonymous.

At the Metro bus stop on East Putnam Avenue near the corner of Hillside Road, about 50 students attempted to crowd on a city bus. The bus driver initially allowed only one adult onto the bus, but the crowd shouted, "Let us on." The bus driver insisted the students form an orderly line, which they did, and then were allowed to board the bus.

GHS 9th grader, Nicolas Duarte, who was waiting at the bus stop said he planned to go home, rest a bit, read for a while and then practice his guitar. "I'm sure a lot of kids will probably waste this valuable time," he said. "But it's a good opportunity to get some work done."

Patch will have more information as it becomes available.