Tolland/Hartford County Towns 'Angry' At Eversource Response

VERNON, CT — Officials from six municipalities in Hartford and Tolland counties gathered at the Vernon Police Department Thursday to collectively express their displeasure at Eversource Energy's "preparedness and response" for and to Tropical Storm Isaias.

Meanwhile, Eversource defended its efforts Thursday and state regulators have pledged a full-scale probe into the goings-on.

The region has been plagued by thousands of power outages that have dragged into a third day.

The meeting was organized at the Vernon Police Department by Michael Purcaro, Vernon's town administrator and emergency management director.

"On behalf of all those here, I want to first thank the first responders and line and electrical workers who have been working so hard," he said. "But in regard to this predicted tropical storm — and we knew what to expect — Eversource has been an epic failure."

Purcaro said suggestions detailed in after-action reports from the epic 2011 "Snowtober" storm were not followed.

"It all begins at the local level and we were coordinated as municipalities," Purcaro said. "But Eversource did nothing to coordinate with our plans."

Here's what town officials had to say:

Vernon

"We're angry," said Vernon Mayor Daniel Champagne, who is also the sitting state senator from Connecticut's 35th district. "All our communities were prepared. Eversource was not."

Champagne said 100 workers from various departments were on duty in Vernon when the storm hit.

"Eversource eventually sent one crew," he said, citing a 48-hour window.

Champagne said many areas in Vernon served by wells have been without power for three days. He said Rockville General Hospital, which features the region's emergency helipad, was forced to use a generator well after the storm hit. The same has been true for the regional wastewater treatment plant in Vernon, he said.

"Connecticut has the highest electricity bills and last week we were dealing with the Eversource delivery charge," Champagne said. "Now this storm. This is what we are getting in return."

Ellington

"Outraged" was the way Ellington First Selectman Lori Spielman described her mood.

She said Pinney Street, a major road that runs from the Vernon line through Ellington and into Somers, was shut down for 48 hours because of wire issues.

"We want our streets at least passable," she said.

Manchester

Manchester General Manager Scott Shanley said he thought lessons were learned after 2011.

"I echo what Mr. Purcaro said. We worked with Eversource a few years ago with the October storm. Some of it was followed after. But, for whatever reason with this storm, it all fell apart. There was no communication."

Shanley continued, "We want power restored and we want to open our roads."

Tolland

Tolland Town Manager Michael Rosen said, at one point, his town had more than 15 roads closed and 83 percent of the local homes — "most of them well-watered" — were without power. He said he had Department of Public Works crews waiting on overtime for Eversource crews that did not show up one day.

Rosen said an occupied car was stranded for 90 minutes with a wire on top of it before Eversource was at the scene.

Coventry

"I've been here 32 years. I want to say the response has been better but it has not," Coventry Town Manager John Elsesser said.

Elsesser said firefighters had to battle a blaze at a local home "with extinguishers" because an Eversource crew was not at the scene of downed wires after an emergency call was sent out. He said a sewage pump station near Coventry Lake has been running on a generator and he has been concerned over a potential failure.

Stafford

Stafford First Selectman Mary Mitta said her town is the third largest in the state by area and one Eversource line crew is in town. Emergency Management Director James Desso said access to Johnson Memorial Hospital was blocked for eight hours on both sides because of downed wires.

The Host

Purcaro said he thought "there were lessons learned." He said Eversource also failed to coordinate its outage reporting system and that prompted residents to turn to the 911 system during Isaias.

"So what's it going to be ... three ... four ... five more days? Our residents need access to basic needs. There were many after-action reports from previous storms. The response recommendations were not followed this week."

At 2:52 p.m., less than an hour after the municipalities staged their news conference, Vernon residents were greeted with a text message from Eversource. It said the utility was working "urgently and safely to restore customers."

Town-by-town restoration efforts can be tracked on the Eversource outage map here.

Before the news conference, Eversource sent out the following e-mail update:

"Eversource line and tree crews are working around-the-clock to repair the widespread damage to the electric system caused by Tropical Storm Isaias Tuesday afternoon. While adhering to strict COVID-19 pandemic safety protocols, utility crews from Canada, Michigan and Massachusetts are assisting in the major restoration effort – with additional outside crews arriving in the state over the next 24 hours. The energy company is focused on clearing downed trees and branches in order to open up access to blocked roads.

"As of 11:30 a.m., crews have restored power to more than 332,000 customers since the storm began, while approximately 533,000 Eversource customers in Connecticut remain without power. The company will provide an estimate of when it expects to have power restored to a majority of affected customers later (Thursday).

Added Eversource President of Regional Electric Operations Craig Hallstrom, "We understand our customers' frustration and know it is an especially challenging time to be without power, given the ongoing pandemic and hot summer weather. Our entire Eversource team is dedicated to this effort and is working with an extreme sense of urgency to get all of our customers the power they need. The impact from this storm and its widespread damage can't be overstated. We’ve made good progress repairing incredible damage across our service territory. We have hundreds of crews spread out across the state addressing more than 10,000 damage locations and working to rebuild the electric system."

Eversource officials said Wednesday the impact of Isaias is rivaling that of Superstorm Sandy.

Meanwhile, Connecticut's Public Utilities Regulatory Authority announced Thursday it will "act" on Gov. Ned Lamont's request to initiate a "comprehensive investigation into how Connecticut's electric utilities, prepared for and responded to Tropical Storm Isaias.

Specifically, Governor Lamont called on PURA to:

• Consider whether the utilities were adequately prepared and have the resources they need to respond to significant weather events
• Evaluate the utilities' response and whether it met regulatory and statutory requirements;
• Determine whether resources that were invested into their outage response system were prudent in light of the recent system failures
• Determine whether civil penalties should be applied

PURA officials said the proceeding, Docket Number 20-08-03, will examine, in detail, "measures each company took in preparation for this storm, which caused widespread power outages and lengthy service restoration timelines, as well as reasons behind the clear misstep in response."

PURA chairman Marissa P. Gillett said, "There has been a significant failure in communication here, leaving upward of 800,000 Eversource customers without even a clear way to report an outage from the outset of the storm event.

"There are disturbing reports emerging about the coordination, or lack thereof, between our electric utilities and the communities which they serve. This is simply unacceptable. There will be a full, transparent investigation to follow.

"However, I want to emphasize that the focus remains for the time being on addressing life safety issues, restoration of service to critical facilities, and restoration of service."