August 31, 2011 ‘ 7 am update. CVPS crews assisted by nearly 600 outside contractors continue to move into the devastated areas of central and southern Vermont this morning. Addison and Bennington County outages will be restored today, while work continues in Windsor, Rutland, Windham and Orange counties.
As of 7 am, more than 59,500 of the 73,000-plus customer outages have been restored, with 14,300 remaining.
Crews will be moving into or continuing work in Killington, Rochester, Stockbridge, Hancock, Granville, Pittsfield, Randolph, Braintree, Brookfield, Bethel, Northfield, Roxbury and Plymouth in central Vermont; and Marlboro, Dover, Halifax, Stratton and Wardsboro in southern Vermont today (among other areas). While crews will be doing extensive repair work, in many cases, they will be rebuilding entire sections of the CVPS electrical system, including substantial work to several substations.
CVPS continued to caution that complete restoration remains dependent on road access, and could take weeks. A specific CVPS support team is continuing to work on travel strategies with local and state Agency of Transportation officials to coordinate alternative access points to washed out routes throughout the state, but it’s difficult work and will take time.
At 7 a.m., CVPS and Hydro-One line crews from Ontario, along with CVPS electrical maintenance workers, began a convoy from Middlebury to Rochester, where they have access for the first time. Line crews and electricians will be moving into the area, where one of the major tasks will be to rebuild the Rochester Substation, the heart of the local electrical system for that area.
‘We also have to examine our entire systems in Rochester, which so far has been assessed primarily from the air,’ said Joe Kraus, senior vice president for engineering, operations and customer service. ‘This will be our first good look at Rochester, which has been isolated since Sunday. We have several days of work ahead of us there.’
Rutland retired line worker Dave Stevens, who had 28 years of service before retiring in 2010, conducted CVPS patrols of distribution lines by helicopter Tuesday, along with patrols of roads in the area. Stevens’ extensive knowledge of the system, as well as the help of about a dozen other retirees, has been critical to the restoration effort.
Middlebury Operations Supervisor Jon Martin conducted a lengthy debriefing with CVPS support staff and crews from a customer’s home in Stockbridge last night, because he had no cell phone service in the area.
‘Our workers and contractors continue to take extraordinary measures to reach our customers, and restore power,’ Kraus said. ‘We will continue to cut our way into isolated communities today, but it’s only going to get harder and take more time as we reach into these devastated areas.’
Crews and support staff have been working 18- and 20-hour shifts since before the storm began, and will continue to do so until the restoration work is done.
CVPS urged Vermonters to use extra caution around waterways, many of which are still flowing at very high levels. ‘A lot of the smaller rivers, creeks and brooks may have dropped back considerably, but the water is still moving much faster than normal,’ said Mike Scarzello, CVPS’s generation asset manager.
If a customer’s home or business was flooded, and their electric service panel was affected by water, it has to be examined by a qualified electrician before CVPS can restore service.
Up-to-date outage numbers (by town) can be found at: http://www.cvps.com/CustomerService/outages/ and http://vtoutages.com/
CVPS offered several safety tips for coping with the outages:
STAY AWAY FROM DOWNED POWER LINES. Don't touch or even go near downed wires! These wires can be energized and can cause serious injuries or death. If the line is blocking the road or in contact with a vehicle with people inside, call your local police or fire emergency number first. Then call CVPS. Instruct others to keep at least 50 feet away, and keep pets and livestock away as well.
Assume all objects touching the power line are also energized. Never attempt to remove trees or limbs from any utility lines! Notify CVPS of the situation.
If using a generator, read and follow the owner's manual before starting the generator. Never operate a generator inside any structure or near a structure. Use a transfer switch to ensure electricity is not accidentally fed onto a line where line crews must work.
Keep freezers and refrigerators closed as much as possible to prevent food spoilage.
If power goes out, turn off all electrical appliances except one light so you'll know when service returns. Then, turn equipment back on slowly.