Beleaguered Berlin electric utility Connecticut Light & Power struggled with short-term power outages on Wednesday, as nearly 30,000 people in the southwestern part of the state were without electricity due to equipment problems.
“I would consider today’s outages to be freak occurrences, but the hardening of the system is something that is being addressed,” CL&P spokesman Mitch Gross said.
Around 8 a.m. this morning, an equipment malfunction in Stamford led to transmission problems and power outages for 19,000 customers in Stamford and Greenwich. Electricity was restored by noon.
Another 700 customers in Greenwich were without electricity for 90 minutes on Wednesday when an equipment issue as a Greenwich substation caused power losses.
Around noon, another 9,750 CL&P customers in Greater New Milford lost power when an equipment malfunction at a substation on the Rocky River caused outages until about 2:30 p.m.
Short-term outages are a relatively common occurrence due to problems such as substation equipment, car accidents hitting power poles or shutdowns for safety reasons, although three outages affecting nearly 30,000 people in one day is unusual for the utility.
The trouble on Wednesday comes as CL&P and its parent company, Hartford-based Northeast Utilities, face increased scrutiny over the handling of the widespread, long-term power outages following Tropical Storm Irene in August and the Oct. 29 snowstorm. Multiple agencies and independent consultants are conducting reviews of CL&P’s preparation and response to the storms.
CL&P officials will testify next week before Gov. Dannel Malloy’s Two Storm Panel about the hardening of the electric system to help prevent widespread, long-term outages.
