Work continues through the weekend
United Illuminating announced it has restored service to more than 100,000customers impacted by Tropical Storm Isaias, and is on track to substantially complete restoration for its remaining impacted customers by Monday.
As of 3:15 on Saturday, Orange still had 497 customers without power, that’s 7.73%.
As of noon Saturday, the company increased its field presence to 1,000 from approximately 800 personnel who were working on restoration activities on Friday.
“We are continuing to identify and bring in additional crews and resources in order to safely restore our impacted customers as quickly as possible. We have made good progress to address the destruction left by Tropical Storm Isaias, but we still have some work ahead of us to restore the remaining customers,” said Tony Marone, UI’s President, and CEO.
UI employees are working with hundreds of contractors and mutual assistance personnel hailing from across the country, including Alabama, Maine, Mississippi, New York,Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin. Army and Air Force National Guard crews and equipment were also on the ground Friday and Saturday, helping to clear roads so crews could safely access and repair downed lines and broken poles.
The expanded restoration team is addressing nearly 2,000 separate outage events, including more than 1,000 single-customer outages, which will need to be individually restored. Over the course of the effort, the company anticipates repairing 119 broken or leaning poles and 151 transformers that were damaged or destroyed by Tropical Storm Isaias. UI expects to replace or re-string a total of 35 miles of primary wire.
Customers are reminded to stay far away from downed wires, which can be live and dangerous even if they show no signs of being energized. Customers are advised to keep kids and pets inside, and never drive over a downed wire. Always report any downed wires to UI at 800-722-5584 and call 911 if there is an imminent danger.
Report an Outage:
Customers still without power should report their outage if they have not done so already. Visit uinet.com or call 800.722.5584 (800.7.CALL.UI). Customers can also report outages using the company’s new mobile app, available from the Apple Store and Google Play, or via UI’s mobile alert system: text “OUT” to 839-884 (TEXT-UI). Registration is required.
Outage Alerts:
Sign up for free Outage Alerts at uinet.com to be notified by text, e-mail, or phone when you lose service and for restoration updates. Or, sign up for free text alerts by texting “REG” to 839-884 (TEXT-UI).
Additional Information:
- Visit UI online at uinet.com.
- Find UI on facebook.com/unitedilluminating.
- Follow @UnitedIllum on Twitter.
Storm relief resources can be found by calling Connecticut’s InfoLine at 2-1-1, or by visiting www.211ct.org.