CVPS completed restoration efforts late Sunday night in the aftermath of last week’s two-pronged snow and wind storm that knocked out power to more than 1 million electric utility customers across the Northeast, finishing one day ahead of initial estimates.
“This was certainly one of the most trying yet productive work weeks in our company’s history, and it revealed the tremendous spirit of our employees and the people we serve,” President Bob Young said. “But this storm is not over for many in the New England. This morning we sent six crews to help Public Service of New Hampshire in their restoration efforts, which are ongoing.”
More than 91,000 CVPS customer outages occurred over the course of the storm, making it the largest in company history. CVPS staged an unparalleled restoration effort, which included more than 90 CVPS linemen, more than 90 two-person contract line crews, more than 20 two-person tree crews and hundreds of support staff.
Employees from departments across the company – finance, human resources and strategic planning, information technology and the like – took up other assignments, helping customer care advocates handle tens of thousands of calls; deliver meals to workers in the field and stage buffet breakfasts and dinners for crews across the state; plot restoration efforts; and deliver materials and supplies to job sites. Line crews came from all across New England, and as far away as Ontario, and state regulatory and emergency management officials worked closely with CVPS to hasten recovery.
“This storm wreaked a tremendous amount of damage statewide to our transmission and distribution lines,” Young said. “Good planning, hard work and collaboration were critical to the recovery.”
Here’s an updated look at the storm by the numbers.
Customers outages: more than 91,000
Repairs required: 1,700-plus
Customer calls: 54,000
Distribution circuits knocked off-line: 19
Transmission circuits knocked off-line: 4
Total broken poles: 34
Total CVPS line crews: 42
Outside line crews: 90-plus
Tree crews: 24
Estimated cost: $4 million (A final number will not be available until June, when all the bills have been received.)
One of the many unique aspects of this storm is that it did damage to every one of CVPS’s 10 districts across the state. Below is a list of our districts, and the percentage of customers affected by the storm in each district:
Middlebury: More than 40 percent of the district’s 15,800 customers
Royalton: Nearly 70 percent of the district’s 18,600 customers
Rutland: More than 30 percent of the district’s 25,000 customers
Poultney: Nearly 65 percent of the district’s 9,000 customers
Springfield: Nearly 50 percent of the district’s 19,000 customers
Bradford: Nearly 35 percent of the district’s 4,700 customers
Sunderland: More than 40 percent of the district’s 23,300 customers
Brattleboro: Nearly 50 percent of the district’s 14,700 customers
St. Johnsbury: About 15 percent of the district’s 7,500 customers
St. Albans: Nearly 20 percent of the district’s 20,800 customers
Source: CVPS 3.1.2010