Remaining Customers Without Power Cope as Best They Can

As of 12:04 a.m. CL&P reported 1,033 Southington customers, or 5%, were still awaiting power restoration. That percentage while nearing the company’s projected deadline of restoring power to 99-percent of Southington customers by 11:59 p.m. Sunday felt like a slow progress for those without power.

Two sides of town awaited the return to normal life. The Queen Plaza was open for business and retailers such as T.J. Max, Bed Bath & Beyond, Dollar Tree and others in the mall resumed business as usual. Outback Steakhouse and Ruby Tuesday appeared to have a healthy customer base Saturday evening.

Behind the eateries and shopping area a small community called The Advent Christian Camp Association were part of the 5% still without power. The community serves as a seasonal camp ground, in addition to housing for year- round residents. It is heavily wooded and consists of wood structured cabins located in close proximity to one another.

Three families were coping as best they could. “I’m staying calm as best as I can. There’s no point in getting upset about it. That won’t make the situation go away,” said Heather Rushing. “My son is more upset because he misses the computer, but we’ve been charging the laptop through the car and can check on things then or watch a DVD movie.” The family has a gas stovetop for cooking and the propane hot water heater has helped. “Filling regular bottles with hot water keeps warmth at night too,” said Rushing.

“We’ve been able to stay warm from the propane heater,” said Missy Cipriano. “While everyone may have different heating, we’re aware of each other’s needs and help out where we can.” The YMCA has come in handy for showers though. “Both my children are home schooled and they haven’t missed any studies,” said Cipriano.

“We are worried though for safety reasons. The situation has gotten old now, and many of the trees are leaning heavily through the wires and a pole is snapped. The utility company needs to get here soon because if there were a fire, many of the homes would go up quickly,” Cipriano and fellow resident Kara Gardner pointed out.

On the opposite side of Southington on Claudia Drive, resident Gerald Granniss was lucky to be alive. A tree fell grazing his house during the snowstorm. “I was sitting in the living room when I heard a loud noise, thinking it was thunder. I opened the door to find the tree right up against the door.” Said Granniss. The leaves caught fire from the downed wire to make matters worse.

While waiting for power, neighbors Brian Cull, Tom Perrault and brother Charlie Perrault, and Scott Fowler helped Granniss with the arduous task of trimming back the tree to clear the property. “I’m getting tired of waiting,” said Teresa Desousa. “It’s dangerous living like this. Both Granniss and another homeowner are elderly on this block and they can’t live without heat!” emphasized Desousa.

CL&P released the following statement Nov. 5: CL&P reminds customers that it is waiving late fees and will arrange flexible payment programs for those customers who experienced unprecedented losses and disruptions to their lives.

Over 400 members of the Connecticut National Guard have been teaming up with CL&P crews to open roads in heavily damaged areas of the state.

CL&P continues to have over 200 service crews working exclusively on reattaching the service wire - the line that runs from the utility pole to a home.  CL&P reminds customers that if your neighbors have power and you do not, please call CL&P at 800-286-2000.

Restoration estimates by town are available online at:

www.cl-p.com/stormcenter/estimates.

To see town-by-town progress:

http://outage.cl-p.com/outage/mobile.aspx

Customer can also call 800-286-2000 for restoration information. CL&P continues to remind customers of the following important safety messages:

·   Always assume any downed or hanging wire is live and dangerous.  Stay at least 10 feet away and call 9-1-1 immediately to report the dangerous situation.

·  To avoid the accumulation of deadly carbon monoxide, only use a generator outdoors. Never use a generator indoors, in an attached garage, a basement or a crawl space. Make sure it has been installed correctly into your home’s wiring to avoid “backfeeding” onto our system, which can endanger our crews.

To report or check on an outage – Visit cl-p.com or call 800-286-2000. Our automated phone and online systems can rapidly process your report and help us speed restoration efforts. You can also get updates on outages in your town by texting “outage” and your zip code to 24612 (texting fees may apply).