Out-of-State Crews at Work but Little Progress on Power

On the fourth day of a power outage that has affected nearly all of the town’s 12,189 customers, no more Farmington residents went to bed with power Wednesday night than Tuesday. The number stayed steady at 96 percent in the dark.

Connecticut Light and Power reportedly sent 13 line crews and 6 tree crews to the town, many of whom came from out of state.

There were rumors that power to Unionville center would be restored quickly after a Canton substation was repaired but it hasn’t happened yet. The utility company is working first to make sure roadways are safe and clear, then targeting major arteries.

Many of the crews came from Charleston, South Carolina’s Sumter Utilities, which sent 25 trucks to help in the aftermath of the Halloween storm. Sumter Utilities sent the crews to help across the region but several crews are dedicated to Farmington and are staying at the Marriott. They are prepared to stay until power is back on for the entire town.

One crew was working this afternoon at the end of West Avon Road where a pole had broken and a transformer has remained in the street since Saturday. An employee said the weight of the telephone lines on the pole, which he said was “ancient,” combined with the added weight of the snow were responsible for the break.

“We’ve seen a lot of damage around here but not a lot of crews doing anything,” he said. “Usually when we respond to these storms there are companies from all over the place; here we’re one of only a couple.”

The sentiment has been echoed by municipal leaders across the state and in rumors that other utility companies rejected CL&P’s requests for help because it hasn’t paid them for work done during Tropical Storm Irene.

Sumter Utilities also pitched in with Irene and still came back to help, the crew said.

Farmington officials said town highway department employees are continuing to do all they can to remove debris from roads and lines to allow CL&P crews to work but they can’t remove branches involved with live wires.

A press release issued by the Town Wednesday morning betrays a hint of frustration.

“According to CLP it is expected that some power will begin to be restored through out the day. However, the majority of residents should expect power to be out for several more days. The Town of Farmington continues to request and emphasize the need for additional CLP resources,” the release said.

No power was restored throughout the day but the Sumter crews will be back out today. Across the state, 476,722 customers are reported to be without power Wednesday night — almost half the number reported at the storm's peak. CL&P has estimated 99 percent of Farmington will have power back by Sunday at midnight.

Officials in neighboring towns have for not sending more crews.