2,800 CL & P Customers Out of Power Statewide

Updated: 1:18 a.m.

Approximately 2,800 Connecticut resident are currently out of power, according to Mitch Gross, a representative from the Connecticut Light and Power Company.

“We are going to be sitting and waiting as Irene makes her way through Connecticut. Safety is number one, and we’re not going to put the crews in harms way. We’ll be putting them out there, of course, as soon as it is safe to do so,” Gross said in a phone interview with Channel 3 News Sunday morning. 

Gross said it will be an all-day event considering the heavy rainfall and winds ahead of the storm, in addition to the backside winds that will hit Connecticut once the eye passes.

“Unfortunately it looks like it will be a while before we are able to go to work with all of these crews that are standing by,” Gross said.

If you lose power and you are a Connecticut Light and Power Company customer, visit cl-p.com or call 1-800-286-2000 to report the outage. 

“Be prepared; be patient; this could last several days or more, but we are ready.”

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Although the Connecticut Light and Power Company could not confirm how many crews will be available specifically to Westport to respond to power outages, a representative said there would be 800 crews available statewide.

Connecticut Light and Power will provide Westport a community liaison. The representative will able to communicate with town officials face-to-face regarding power outages, according to Westport Fire Department Assistant Chief Robert Yost.

“Connecticut Light and Power will commit a member of their staff to all of the different community emergency operation centers. That way they can coordinate power outages and requests for services,” Yost said.

Town officials met frequently throughout the day for weather briefings and to “firm up” their plans.

“All the department heads got together and we came up with plans of how we are going to handle this,” Yost said.

Westport Fire Department Assistant Chief Bill Dingee said the emergency evacuation center at Long Lots Elementary School was fairly vacant.

“As of 6:00 a number of people had come in and checked the place out, but not many people had checked in,” Dingee said.