After a strong storm ripped through Vermont late afternoon of Independence Day, Green Mountain Power linecrews worked through the night to restore power to the 12,000 customers affected by the storm. By 4:30 pm Thursday, power had been restored to all but a couple dozen customers, who are expected to be restored by sundown. Vermont Electric Cooperative was reporting that some 800 of its customers were still without power Thursday morning, but was expecting power to be back on today.
â Our crews worked tirelessly to restore power,’ said GMP spokeswoman Dorothy Schnure. â With our new combined resources, we were able to assess the damage statewide and strategically deploy crews and equipment more quickly across the new service territory to improve restoration time. This is exactly what we had expected to be able to do as the new merged company.â
The storm began at 5 p.m. on July 4 in northeastern Vermont. A second wave with winds up to 70 miles per hour hit northwestern Vermont around 7 p.m. and traveled south, affecting customers throughout the state. Trees and branches blew down, knocking out power, and lightning damaged underground electrical systems. Additional outages occurred as crews worked through the night and the overall number of customers affected rose to approximately 12,000.
If any Green Mountain Power customer is still without power, they should call 1-888-TEL-GMPC (1-888-835-4672). Customers may also report outages on-line at www.greenmountainpower.com.
VEC Crews Restoring Outages
Approximately 800 Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) members in Chittenden County remain without power on Thursday morning as a result of powerful thunderstorms that caused severe damage in several parts of the VEC service territory on Wednesday afternoon and evening. High winds and heavy rainfall caused trees to uproot and fall on power lines resulting in widespread damage to the VEC system.
VEC line workers and tree crews have been working throughout the night and will continue until mid- to late-morning when full outage restoration was expected. Early Thursday morning, outages remained in the following towns: Hinesburg, Huntington, Richmond, Shelburne, St. George and Williston.
Electricity has been restored to about 2,500 VEC customers. The severe Fourth of July storms also impacted VEC members in Grand Isle County, Lamoille County and other areas of the VEC territory.
For more information please visit our website atwww.vermontelectric.coop/outage.
GMP, VEC 7.5.2012