Power Won't Come Back Until Sunday For Some CT Customers

DANBURY, CT — Some Connecticut residents will be in the dark for a couple of days as utility and public works crews work to clear roads of debris and get power lines strung. The powerful storm left more than 120,000 residents without power at one point. That number has been reduced to around 57,000 as of 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

Eversource has about 54,000 outages while United Illuminating has around 3,000. For some the power won't come back until Sunday (See below for restoration estimates.)

Gov. Dannel Malloy said the level of devastation in some communities like Brookfield is the worst those areas have seen. He urged municipalities to collect the data needed for possible federal disaster reimbursement.

"If you are not out and around you might not understand the extend of damage that was done to local elctrical grids,” he said.

There are some areas of towns where virtually every electric delivery system on almost every road is damaged in one way or another, Malloy said.

The overall level of devastation on a statewide basis isn't as bad as other weather events, but some areas have heavily concentrated damage. Over his tenure as governor Malloy has dealt with numerous major snow events and hurricanes Irene and Sandy that devastated coastal areas.

The National Guard will be deployed Friday to help with heavy duty tree removal.

Overall Malloy said towns are doing a good job in cleanup efforts and thanked other muncipalities that are pitching in to help their neighbors.

The National Weather Service continues to survey damage. It was determined that Brookfield experienced a "macroburst" that leveled trees in the same direction. Two tornadoes were confirmed in the Oxford/Southbury and Hamden areas.

UI expects to have power back to the majority of its coverage area by midnight. However, it could take longer for Hamden and North Haven. Wires were reported down in 166 separate locations in UI's territory.

“The devastation is remarkable,” said Joe Thomas, UI’s vice president for electric system operations. “In the hardest-hit areas, we’re not so much repairing the electric system as rebuilding it from the ground up.”

UI is using Hamden's Public Works complex on Shepard Avenue as a local staging area and has been working closely with town officials.

“The fierce winds we experienced caused significant damage to the electric system and left many communities devastated,” said Eversource Vice President of Electric Operations Mike Hayhurst. “At every turn, our crews are facing blocked roads caused by downed trees... Once we clear the roads, then we can continue the process of re-building the system and restoring power.”

Related:

• 2 Tornadoes Confirmed In Connecticut: National Weather Service
• Photos: Connecticut Storm Aftermath

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Comcast has opened its Connecticut Xfinity WiFi hotspots to anyone who needs them including non-customers.

Gov. Dannel Malloy said those without power should plan for long-term outages.

Numerous roads are closed due to downed trees and power lines. Brookfield has declared a town disaster due to the carnage left behind. Whole sections of Hamden have been turned upside down, and a tornado was confirmed to have touched down in the Southbury and Oxford area. (See videos and photos of the tornado here.)

Power restoration estimates from Eversource

Outage details

Eversource outages:

UI Outages

UI Outages

Photo by Adam Bankowski in Wallingford