Objections Raised to Closure of Electric Utility Work Center in Simsbury

Objections at a recent public hearing to the closure of the Eversource (formerly Connecticut Light & Power) facility in Simsbury include lengthened response times to power emergencies, the Hartford Courant reported.

The state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority hearing on Thursday came after state officials asked PURA to look into the utility’s decision to close the work center. PURA has the authority to block its closing, and a decision on whether or not to do so is expected by July 22, according to the newspaper. The company has said the 69 employees at the Simsbury work center will be transferred to Cheshire, Hartford or Torrington.

Simsbury First Selectman Lisa Heavner said longer response times for power outages and other emergencies involving dangerous electric lines would be a significant loss for the town, according to the article. She cited a Fall 2014 case in which a worker was trapped under live electrical wires until utility crews arrived 20 minutes later. Frank Cirillo of the electricians’ union Local 420 in Waterbury said it can be hard to drive into the Farmington Valley in bad weather.

Heavner asked for a written commitment from Eversource for a 30-minute response time for the most serious (“priority one”) incidents, but Eversource Vice President of Electric Field Operations Steven Gilkey said he couldn’t give it. The closing is part of an efficiency move that he said would benefit utility customers. Response times have not been significantly different in other places where work centers have closed, and a policy adopted last May, in which work centers were staffed 24 hours a day, every day has helped, he said, according to the report.