Storm Caused Massive Power Outage in Greenwich, Stamford

Almost all Connecticut Light and Power customers in Greenwich were in the dark after a thunderstorm brought down several trees, including an 85-foot-tall tree that came down on a major power line on Summit Road.

The First Selectman in Greenwich declared a state of emergency at 10:15 a.m. Monday, the town has opened its Emergency Operations Center and cooling centers are open, according to Greenwich police.

CL&P crews have been out since around 3 a.m., when the initial problem was reported and power is expected to be fully restored by around 8 p.m. 

Greenwich police said CL&P must restore power to town by sections.

The massive power outage came about around 10 a.m., when the leaning tree began leaning even more and took out another power line, according to officials at CL&P.

Crews are in the process of removing the tree.

As of 12:40 p.m., about 25,000 customers out of almost 28,000 customers in Greenwich were in the dark. By 3:30 p.m., there were about 5,800 people in the dark.

Greenwich police warned that many traffic control signals might not be operating during the power outage. 

Businesses or residences that use the municipal sewer system are asked to help conserve water to the greatest extent possible to reduce the strain on the municipal sewer pump stations and treatment plant. 

The Town of Greenwich opened cooling centers at noon on Monday. They include the Community Room of the Public Safety Complex, at 11 Bruce Place, and the Ben Heim Western Greenwich Civic Center, at 449 Pemberwick Road. 

The cooling spots will have connections for charging personal electronic devices.  There will be no food or water. 

The storm also caused rail problems because the line is in close proximity to railroad tracks operated by Metro-North and Amtrak.

Metro-North trains are currently not operating west of the Cos Cob RR station, according to Greenwich officials, who asked residents to use extra caution when traveling. 

Substitute bus service will be provided until further notice on the New Canaan branch because of power outages in Talmadge Hill area. 

“We're working closely with town, state and railroad officials to remove the tree and complete related repair work as quickly and safely as possible,” CL&P said in a release. “We expect the repairs to the transmission line that also affect the railroad to be complete by mid-afternoon. Remaining distribution system customers are expected to be restored by approximately 8 p.m. this evening.

“We recognize the significant impact this situation will have on our customers and those who rely on the railroad for travel. We sincerely thank our customers for their understanding and will continually provide updates as the work progresses.”

Anyone with emergency conditions, please call 911.  If you have a non-emergency condition, you can dial 203-622-8003.  If you are elderly or have disability or mobility issues, you can contact TAG at 203-637-4345 for transportation to a cooling/reception center.

 

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