5,700 Without Power In Greenwich Saturday Night: Eversource

GREENWICH, CT — As Greenwich continues to clean up from Friday's nor'easter, more than 5,700 Eversource customers - or 20 percent of the town's customers - remains without power as of 7:39 p.m., according to the utility company.

Greenwich officials released the following update Saturday evening:

Crews continue to work clearing trees and limbs that have closed dozens of Greenwich roads in the aftermath of the March 2 Nor’easter.

Crews of Town employees and private contractors will continue the cleanup efforts through the weekend. Many roads remain blocked by downed trees, poles and utility wires. Any downed wire should be considered a live wire and avoided.

Many roads remain closed and motorists are advised to avoid those areas and to expect detours. “Until all roads are open, we ask residents to travel only if necessary,” said First Selectman Peter J. Tesei. “It is not prudent to be out sightseeing to check out the damage around Town.”

For residents without power or heat, the Town will continue to offer warming and charging centers through the weekend.

Greenwich Library will be open from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, March 4.

The lobby of the Greenwich Public Safety Complex on Havemeyer Place is open daily – 24/7.

The Western Greenwich Bendheim Civic Center, 449 Pemberwick Road, is open daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. (The Eastern Greenwich (Old Greenwich) Civic Center is closed.)

Personnel from the Town’s emergency services, Parks & Recreation and Public Works departments will continue to monitor the situation throughout Town.

Eversource also released the following update:

Out-of-state utility crews are arriving in Connecticut to assist Eversource workers restoring power to customers impacted by Friday’s devastating wind, rain and snow storm. While the worst of the storm has passed, strong winds continue to cause damage and power outages around the state. The vast majority of Eversource customers in Connecticut currently without power will have it restored by Sunday at 9 p.m., with many being restored before that.

“We’ve made tremendous progress despite the difficult conditions our crews are working in,” said Eversource Vice President of Electric Operations in Connecticut Michael Hayhurst. “This storm was extremely destructive, bringing down thousands of trees around the state, making it difficult for our crews to travel to locations where work needs to be done. Being there for our customers when they need us means continuing to work 24/7 until everyone has their power back on.”

Working non-stop, line and tree crews have restored power to more than 134,000 customers since the storm began. The company is partnering with communities, responding to 9-1-1 emergencies and clearing blocked roads. Dozens of additional utility crews from as far as Canada, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee are assisting Eversource crews with restoration efforts. Several more crews are on the way and expected to arrive in Connecticut later today.

The company reminds customers to always stay clear of downed wires and to report them immediately to 9-1-1. They should also report an outage online at www.eversource.com, or by calling 800-286-2000.

Photo credit: Eversource