Compared to the last two stormy years, the record weekend blizzard was a blip on the restoration radar for electric utilities Connecticut Light & Power and United Illuminating.
CL&P had 73,000 power outages from the storm while UI had 1,900. CL&P reached substantial completion on Sunday while UI finished on Saturday.
“Many of those that had issues into Saturday were because the streets were not plowed,” UI spokesman Michael West.
Since August 2011, CL&P and UI had three significant weather events – Tropical Storm Irene, the October 2011 nor’easter, and Superstorm Sandy – that each caused nearly 1 million power outages, many of which were not restored until more than a week after the storms hit. CL&P, in particular, was criticized for its preparation and response, having been found deficient and inadequate for its 2011 responses that caused parent company Northeast Utilities to agree to $400 million in concessions to complete its merger with Boston-based NStar.
The weekend snowstorm had a similar buildup to the last three weather events, with Gov. Dannel Malloy declaring a state of emergency and closing all highways, but the large number of outages never materialized and those that did were resolved quickly.
“The potential was there because of the forecast,” CL&P spokesman Mitch Gross said.
After the 2011 storms, CL&P began a system hardening plan, largely based on enhanced tree trimming to keep branches from falling on overhead lines. Gross wouldn’t speculate why CL&P had fewer outages this past weekend. The utility also brought in contract crews from Massachusetts, Ohio, and North Carolina to assist in restoring Connecticut’s power.
“That will be part of the post-storm analysis,” Gross said.
After CL&P finished substantial restoration, the utility sent 50 workers to assist in recovery efforts for NStar Electric. Those workers will help in southeastern Massachusetts, where the majority of NStar’s 94,631 outages remain.
