BERLIN, Conn — As the state is covered in a blanket of snow, utility crews are now getting ready for the next storm. This time, heavy rain and strong wind gusts are coming across Connecticut on Tuesday into Wednesday morning.
Eversource leaders believe the storm has some similarities to the December storm we saw three weeks ago, causing just under 200,000 of their customers to be impacted. Some of those customers waited days to get their power back.
Taking notes from that weather event, Eversource is activating its emergency response plan Tuesday night at 6 p.m., and beefing up on manpower. The company will have more than 1,100 line and tree crews responding to this event, including Eversource workers and outside contractors from other states like Pennsylvania and New York
“First we go after the blocked roads. The towns really want us to get those roads open and that’s what we go after first with those trouble shooters. Then we go after the critical facilities. Police, fire stations, hospitals, we’re getting those back up. And then we’re turning in force to the customer outages,” said Steve Sullivan, President of Eversource Connecticut.
As crews do what they can to prepare, they’re asking Connecticut residents to take steps toward safety, too. That includes getting a storm kit ready in the case of a power outage.
“Water, any critical medical prescription that you have, flashlights, batteries, and in particular, charge up your mobile devices. Definitely before noon tomorrow,” Sullivan said.
Eversource leaders are reminding people to stay away from downed wires and if you see one, call 911. Outage reports can be made online at Eversource.com or by calling 800-286-2000. United Illuminating customers can call 800.722.5584 . Norwich Public Utilities customers can call 860-887-2555. Wallingford Public Utilities customers can call (203) 265-5055.
More tips on storm preparedness can also be found at the Storm Preparedness section at Eversource.com
Doug Stewart is a Senior Digital Content Producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dstewart@fox61.com.
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