Outage Update for East Lyme, Old Lyme, and Lyme: CL&P Explains Its Storm Response [VIDEO]

It's just beginning to get dark and for the many people in East Lyme, Old Lyme, and Lyme, that means it's time to light the candles. Connecticut Light and Power linesmen have been working on restoring power to all three towns.

As of 5:30 p.m., crews had made great headway in Lyme, with only 450 homes or 34 percent of CL&P customers without power compared to just about 100 percent this morning.

The lights are coming back on slowly but surely in Old Lyme, where 74 percent of the town remains without power compared to more than 90 percent yesterday. The town's top priorities today were the Rogers Lake entrance trail and Lyme Street, and stores such as Big Y have power.

It may take longer for areas that were damaged by flooding, such as Whippoorwill, Sill Lane, and McCurdy Street, to get power back because obstructions need to be cleared from roads before linesmen can get to work, Old Lyme Emergency Management Director David Roberge said. 

CL&P work crews were fixing downed power lines in East Lyme today, and took members of the media along for the ride. Still, it's taking a while to restore power, particularly in areas where roads are blocked by fallen trees or damaged by flooding.

As of 5:30 p.m., CL&P was reporting that 96 percent of East Lyme remained without power. Eleven CL&P crews are operating in East Lyme now, working to restore the main power feed lines on Routes 1, 156, and 161. 

How CL&P Approaches The Task of Restoration

As linesmen worked on the powerlines in East Lyme today, CL&P Spokesman Mitch Gross gave information on how CL&P fixes the lines and the way they are handling this storm response. Some of the highlights:

• CL&P first focused on clearing the roads (often lines are down and the power needs to be shut off), and then focuses on fixing primary power lines, then secondary primary lines. At this point, CL&P said most of the roads are clear and now they are almost exclusively focusing on restoration. The primary power lines are the main circuits that feed thousands of homes. The secondary lines are the ones down smaller streets. CL&P has crews that can only do secondary lines, and while they are working on those secondary lines the power will not come back on until the primary line is back up.
• Along those lines, often fixing a spot on a primary line can bring back power in many towns. For example, the main line through Montville also serves Quaker Hill. So while Quaker Hill people may not see CL&P workers in Waterford, they could still get power back.
• Each town makes up a list of what its top priorities are to get back online. Generally, it is wherever the shelter is first, and then fire and police stations, then schools. Millstone nuclear power plant is very high on the list, and had power back on Tuesday.
• Each impacted town is assigned a line crew that helps them clear the roads.
• CL&P has a machine, called a track machine, which can go into the woods so workers can fix lines on CL&P right-of-ways that are deep in the woods. Often, these lines were put in areas that were fields, but trees have sense grown and now they are dense forests. Before the track machine can be deployed, the trees must be cut back, as shown in the video above.