CL&P Opens Emergency Operations Center

Approximately 800 CL&P line and tree crews are on call, ready to restore power to customers affected by outages caused by , and the utility has opened its Emergency Operations Center in Berlin.

At 10 p.m. Saturday night, the CL&P outage map indicated 350 customers are without power. Only two are in New Canaan, but 94 customers in Darien are currently without power and an estimated 50 in Westport.

"Our CL&P crews are ready to go to work as soon as it is safe to do so and we have additional support crews beginning to arrive from as far away as Florida, Ohio and Michigan," said Jeff Butler, CL&P president and chief operating officer in a press release.  "We continue communicating with town and state officials to make sure all of our efforts are coordinated."

Butler said crews will not work during the height of the storm, out of consideration for their safety.

“Once conditions allow, we will begin responding to 911 calls to de-energize downed wires and make the area safe.  At the same time, we will work with town public works crews to clear roads for emergency vehicles and begin restoring power to our customers.”  

announced Saturday that a at New Canaan’s Emergency Operations Center to be ready to respond to outages in town.

CL&P offers the following advice to residents during the storm:

• Stay at least 10 feet away from all wires! Assume any downed, hanging or burning power lines are live and dangerous.
• If a power line falls on your vehicle while you’re inside, stay there. Don’t touch anything outside the vehicle and wait for emergency crews.
• Call 9-1-1 immediately with any emergency condition.  
• To report outages or check the status of an outage visit the CL&P website or call 800-286-2000.  The company's automated phone and on-line systems rapidly process your report and help speed restoration efforts.