More than 55,000 Connecticut businesses and homes were without power Monday afternoon as the wind and rain from Hurricane Sandy intensified.
Berlin-based electric utility Connecticut Light & Power reported 48,983 of its 1.24 million ratepayers were without electricity as of 3 p.m. Monday.
New Haven-based electric utility United Illuminating reported 7,721 of its 320,150 customers were without electricity as of 3 p.m. Monday.
The number of outages across the two utilities is projected to increase drastically to more than 600,000 as Hurricane Sandy comes closer to Connecticut throughout the week.
The nuclear Millstone Power Station in Waterford has reduced the electrical output of one of its two reactors to 75 percent. Plant owner Dominion decided to reduce the output as the water intake from Long Island Sound used to cool the reactor became filled with more debris from the storm. The plant’s other unit has been closed this fall for refueling.
