7 Percent Powerless; Two School Days To Be Made Up in April [Update]

Update 8 a.m. (Sat)

From the Board of Ed:

• The First Day of School will be Tuesday September 6, 2011 and will be a full day.
• The two days that students missed school (September 1 &2) due to the hurricane, will be treated as snow days, and extend the length of the school year by two days. Two additional snow days remain before reducing the April vacation.

Update 11 p.m.

UI says all but 7 percent of Fairfield customers—1,734 total—remain without power. In Easton, 43 percent are powerless still.

Update 4:30 p.m.

[Editor's Note: What follows is a press release issued Friday afternoon by United Illuminating.]

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Friday, Sept. 2, 2011 — The United Illuminating Company, electric subsidiary of UIL Holdings Corporation (NYSE: UIL), expects by the end of this weekend to restore power to nearly all customers left without service by the Aug. 28 hurricane.

UIL Chief Executive Officer James P. Torgerson said the company expects to reduce the outage total to below 10,000 by the end of Friday. By the end of Saturday, at least 98 percent of UI customers should have power, and virtually all customers should have electric service by the end of Sunday.

Torgerson said any customer whose power is still out by the end of the day Sunday should report it to UI’s customer care center at 1-800-7-CALL UI (1-800-722-5584).

As of 1 p.m. on Friday, 20,825 UI customers were still awaiting restoration of electric service, compared with more than 158,000 after Hurricane Irene barreled through the state last weekend, leaving nearly half of all UI customers without power.

“We again want to thank our customers for their patience and support during this restoration process. We will not be satisfied until every customer is restored,” Torgerson said. “Today, we are especially focused on the towns of Fairfield, Easton and Hamden, where more individual outages require more resources.”

The company expected to restore on Friday approximately 80 percent of the customers still without power in those communities. In Fairfield, the company expected by the end of the day Friday to restore 2,029 of the 2,751 customers without power. In Easton, where 1,689 customers were still without power, the company expected to restore 1,220 customers. And in Hamden, the company expected to restore virtually all of the 1,515 customers still without electric service.  

UI on Friday increased the number of available restoration crews to 325.

“Our personnel continue to work closely with our partners in the federal, state and local government to help establish priorities and ensure the smooth flow of information,” said Anthony J. Vallillo, UIL’s executive vice president and chief operating officer.

Company officials reminded customers that UI can only restore power if the electrical system on the property is undamaged and capable of accepting electrical service.

UI is responsible for repairing the incoming service wire leading to a home or business, including the connection point that attaches UI’s service to the property’s electrical system (see graphic).

It is the property owner’s responsibility to ensure there is no damage to the wires and equipment after the connection point, as well as the entrance cable and the meter base to which the meter is attached. (UI generally owns and maintains the meter and will repair it if it is broken.) Before UI can reconnect electrical service, any damage on the property owner’s side must first be repaired by a licensed electrician.

Company officials continue to urge the public to assume any downed power lines or other electrical equipment to be live and dangerous. Stay far away and report the location and details to UI by calling 1-800-7-CALL-UI (1-800-722-5584).

Outage information is available at UI’s website, www.uinet.com.

Customers of UIL’s gas utilities should report any gas odor or suspected leak to the numbers below:

§         Berkshire Gas Company: 800-292-5012

§         Connecticut Natural Gas Corporation: 866-924-5325

§         Southern Connecticut Gas Company: 800-513-8898

 Customers who need other sorts of storm-related assistance should dial 211 to reach the state’s Infoline, which can put them in touch with a variety of local services. Or, they can contact the American Red Cross.

Update 12:45 p.m. (Fri)

[Editor's Note: What follows is a press release from United Illuminating. As of 11 a.m., 3,102 Fairfield homes—about 13 percent of the utility's customer base—still was without power.]

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Friday, Sept. 2, 2011 — UIL Holdings Corporation (NYSE: UIL), parent of The United Illuminating Company, is pleased to announce $50,000 in relief grants to help local communities meet residents’ needs in the wake of Hurricane Irene.

The Aug. 28 hurricane caused significant damage across UI’s territory and left many of the company’s customers without power for days. UI will work with local partners to ensure the funds are distributed to organizations that are well placed to meet each community’s needs.

“Hurricane Irene has left an unfortunate and lingering legacy across the Northeast,” said James P. Torgerson, chief executive officer of UIL Holdings Corporation. “Even as we intensify our ongoing effort to restore electric service to all of our customers, we have an opportunity now to help provide relief to those customers who have been enduring a variety of hardships since the storm struck.”

The relief grants, paid for by UIL shareholders, will be distributed as follows:

• $5,000 each for Bridgeport and New Haven, the largest communities in UI’s service territory;
• $2,500 for each of the remaining 15 communities UI serves; and
• $2,500 for the Connecticut Red Cross.

The grant program was structured to give local officials input into how the funds should be distributed.

“All of our communities have different people with different needs. So we wanted to make sure that we were working closely with our local partners to ensure that these relief grants have the maximum possible impact,” said Anthony Marone, UIL’s vice president for business services.

UI continued to make headway with storm recovery efforts. As of 11 a.m. Friday, the company was reporting 21,872 customer outages, less than one-sixth the number of outages immediately after the hurricane hit on Sunday. Company officials noted that more than 93 percent of all UI customers had electric service Friday morning, compared with Sunday afternoon, when nearly half of all customers were without electricity.

Update 4:30 p.m.

UI has a total of 298 available crews as of 4:30 p.m. Thursday, and 6,438 outages in Fairfield.

An update from Fairfield First Selectman Mike Tetreau is attached.

"The storm has been one of the worst we've experienced in our town's history," Teatreau said.

"Based on my talks with UI today, they have committed to the following," Tetreau continued. "UI will be increasing the number of work crews in our town every day until restoration is done. Our target is 5,900 outages by midnight tonight. Down to 2,500 by midnight on Friday, down to 1,000 by midnight on Saturday, with a near-total restoration by Sunday at midnight."

Update 11:30 a.m.

UI says that 6,713 Fairfield customers—about 28 percent of the company's customers in town—remain without power.

Update 10:30 a.m. (Thursday)

As of 6 a.m., United Illuminating was reporting 6,784 total outages in Fairfield—or 29 percent of its customer base, marking no change since 5 p.m. Wednesday. Residents in need should head to the ShopRite parking lot for . Several other businesses and organizations are contributing .

Update 5:30 p.m. (Wednesday)

This update comes from the town of Fairfield's Facebook page:

The Emergency Team recognizes that many town residents are still suffering from the affects, from Irene and that all town employees are working diligently to speed the Town’s recovery. The Fairfield residents are resilient and resourceful and assisting the Town with the recovery.

As of 4:00 PM today, there are 15 roads still closed and 6,577 residents and customers without power, down from a peak of over 16,000 without power during the peak of the storm. The current priorities for the town of Fairfield continue to be clearing the roadways working with utility companies to restore power. The health and safety for the residents of Fairfield is paramount and we are providing water, ice and food for those in need.

Residents needing further information or additional questions can call 203-254-4800.

AS ALWAYS IN AN EMERGENCY RESIDENTS SHOULD STILL CALL 911.

Food, water and ice can be obtained, free of charge, in the parking lot of Shop Rite on Black Rock Tpke.

Residents should be aware of the following safety precautions:
1. Preventing carbon monoxide poisoning by keeping generators away from open windows, and away from the home.
2. Discarding food that has been unrefrigerated to avoid food poisoning.See More

Update 9:35 p.m.

UI says that 9,343 Fairfield customers remain without power—about 39 percent of all its customers.

Update 5:40 a.m. (Tuesday)

According to UI, 11,274 Fairfield homes—about 48 percent of all customers in town—remain without power on Tuesday morning.

Update 3 p.m.

UI is reporting that 13,843 Fairfield homes are without power, representing 58 percent of all UI customers in town, according to the utility. The figure also represents a rise of about 3,000 customers without power since earlier in the afternoon.

Update 12:30 p.m.

According to United Illuminating, 10,941 Fairfield homes remain without power—meaning the company has restored power to more than 3,000 homes since Monday morning.

Town offices and buildings, with the exception of essential services, are closed Monday, town officials say.

Original Story

As of 9:30 a.m. Monday, 13,985 Fairfield homes—about 64 percent of those served by United Illuminating—remained without power, the utility said on its website.

To report a power outage, downed power lines or damaged electrical equipment, UI is encouraging customers to dial1-800-722-5584 and press "1." The company says it's focused on restoring power to public safety, shelter and municipal buildings, and then customers.

First Selectman Mike Tetreau declared a state of emergency in Fairfield on Saturday afternoon, identified dozens of streets for emergency evacuation and designated as an emegency shelter.

"Many trees are power lines are down, creating a dangerous situation," town officials said on Fairfield's website.

in Fairfield are closed Monday. Thursday remains scheduled as the first day of school for public schools in Fairfield. Metro-North has Monday.

Damage in Fairfield has been extensive. On Sunday, five homes on Fairfield Beach Road into Long Island Sound. See Fairfield Patch's for a real-time discussion and new information on how Hurricane Irene affected town and surrounding communities.