High winds whipped the state on Wednesday and into Thursday, taking down trees and damaging homes and cars - and knocking out power to tens of thousands.
On Saturday morning, Eversource, the state's largest electric utility, said "We were able to achieve our goal of restoring power to the vast majority of customers by this morning. We know how tough it is for customers to be without power and we greatly appreciate their patience.”
On the FOX61 Morning News Saturday, spokeswoman Tricia Modifica said "We're happy the round-the-clock effort we've put in over the past two days has paid off."
Eversource says their local repair crews were helped by crews from Michigan, New York, Ohio and Virginia. Approximately 95,000 customers were impacted by the storm, and restoration required replacing 132 broken poles, 26 miles of overhead electric lines and more than 100 transformers. As of 8 a.m., crews continue to work on the final 290 power outages, according to a press release from the utility.
The state's other major electric utility, United Illuminating, had restored power to all customers by Saturday morning. UI customers checking on progress may have frustrated in the immediate aftermath of the storm because the utility had a problem with its website, but that was resolved on Thursday.
The remaining outages are scattered or single outages that take longer to fix, and may require assistance from a private electrician or contractor. Eversource says their lineworkers are going to those individual locations to assess what the situation and see if additional equipment or resources are needed to restore power.
Eversource says there is still a potential for trees weakened by the storm to fall onto power lines. Stay far away from any downed wires, and to report them to 9-1-1 right away. Customers can report an outage online at http://www.eversource.com, or by calling 800-286-2000.