Connecticut Light & Power Co. acknowledges that problems between the utility and the union for its linesmen were indeed a factor in the utility’s response to the power outages caused by the March 13-14 storm which left more than half of Westport without power, according to a published report.
Minutemannewscenter.com reports that during a monthly meeting this week of the South Western Metropolitan Planning Organization, attended by chief elected officials of southwest Connecticut, Todd M. Blosser, director of Southern Division operations for CL&P, said that according to company contracts with union leaders, whether they worked 14, 16 or 18 hours in a row, linesmen were required to then take off for eight hours and rest.
This contractual obligation limited their ability to work and earn large amounts of overtime hours and pay during the storm, the online news report said.
CL&P is a unit of Hartford-based Northeast Utilities Inc.
Blosser said union leaders were “being less than truthful” when they said a 16-hour shift was company policy. In fact, it is a guideline, not official policy. This guideline, however, in fact did impact the ability of linesmen to earn extra money as they worked to restore power to the community and resulted in union complaints to the public.
Blosser did not say, and was not asked, whether it prolonged restoration of power as the unions contended. He did say that a new contract which was negotiated with the linesman’s union made it harder to earn as much double-time pay as in the past, but said, “The membership voted on it and approved it, and now when we move forward on this contract many are not happy about it.”
He said he expected more complaints during storms in the future as a result of the contract. He also said that CL&P is a business that has to exert financial controls as best as it could.
Christopher Swan, a CL&P executive who lives in Westport, was also present at the meeting. He said the company had been “overwhelmed in the early hours” of the storm.
Blosser said the company had already decided to change a number of its operating procedures as a result of feedback following the storm.
In past storms, CL&P had concentrated on restoring power to the largest number of customers first, leaving clearing roads and hooking up individual homes a lesser priority.
Blosser also told the meeting that a top goal was improving communications with municipal officials as well as the public during storms. He said during the past storm officials had problems getting communication from crews out working during the storm, many of whom were from out of state, and some even from out of the country, including some French Canadians who did not speak English.
