MONROE, CT — First Selectman Ken Kellogg says power outages in Monroe were down to 29 percent of the town by Sunday evening, as line crews and cable company trucks have been working in town throughout the day.
Eversource told him their focus is on repairing substations and major distribution lines that impact large areas and must be restored first, to allow street-by-street work to proceed.
“We have been advised by Eversource that their online outage map may continue to reflect Monroe’s overall ‘substantial restoration’ time of Tuesday at 6 p.m., even though many customers will be restored earlier,” Kellogg said in his update.
Power company trucks at the firehouse
Some drivers may have noticed Eversource trucks parked outside the firehouse on Shelton Road (Route 110) today, and wondered why those crews were not out in the field.
“I went by to see it myself and tried to get information from Eversource on it,” Kellogg said. “Eversource did not have a specific answer for me, but said it is not uncommon if they’re waiting for additional resources, assets or parts when they are a part of a restoration effort.”
“I was concerned they were staged there waiting for assignment,” he added. “I was not told that was not the case. I thought some were working at 110 at one point.”
Kellogg said close to 2,000 Eversource customers had their power restored within the last 24 hours. As of last night, 53 percent of Monroe was out, so he said he was encouraged by the progress in getting that number down to 29 percent.
In his update, Kellogg said 2,333 Monroe customers are still without power.
Eversource issued a press release Sunday saying more than 2,300 line, tree and support crews, from across the country and Canada, are now on the ground “as the energy company continues its urgent effort to restore the remaining 138,000 customers in Connecticut without power.”
Its logistical team worked to secure more than 6,500 beds for crews and has been serving more than 30,000 meals daily, according to Eversource.
The energy company expects 90 percent of its Connecticut customers to have power by Sunday evening. Updated town-by-town restoration estimates are available at Eversource.com.
Internet, cable service
Some residents who got their power back have been asking about their cable and internet service.
“Many Spectrum and Frontier vehicles are in town,” Kellogg said. “I know they’re working on it, but we haven’t been provided any information from them.”
Lara Pritchard, senior director of communications for Spectrum, told The Sun, “our outages are in direct correlation to power outages in these areas. As power resumes, our services are coming back online.”
“Keep in mind, customers may get their power back at their house, but if power has not resumed at the part of our network that services the area, customers will still see an interruption in service,” she added.
An email to Frontier has not yet been returned.
Most Roads are passable
The first selectman said the town’s public works crews have made significant progress on opening roads to traffic, by clearing away storm debris, such as fallen trees, branches and wires — the latter requiring assistance from Eversource.
“I think we got everything done to at least make things passable with one or two exceptions,” Kellogg said. “This has to do with communication lines Eversource cannot touch. A small number of those are causing a road issue.”
In those cases, Kellogg said Spectrum or Frontier is needed to make the repairs to its equipment. “If this was just a push it to the side of the road thing and Eversource said it was safe, we would have done it already,” he said.
Roads that still have blockages are East Village Road, Josie’s Ring Road and Pastors Walk. Kellogg said Pastors Walk is blocked by communication wires on the Newtown side.
The first selectman’s update
Here is information that was included in Kellogg’s update issued Sunday evening:
- The pool side of Wolfe Park will open on Monday, and the pool itself will open Monday afternoon.
- Remember that reservations are required due to COVID.
- Water suitable for drinking is available from a hose at the Senior Center, Monroe Police Department in the vehicle bay area near the library, and at the fire stations on upper Main Street, Monroe Turnpike, and Jockey Hollow Road.
- Our charging stations remain available at the Town Hall Gazebo and, weather permitting, outside the library from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Bring your own lawn chair if desired. WiFi access is
also available from outside the library building. - Town officials will continue to post updates at www.MonroeCT.org/storm. Remember to use the town dispatch center’s non-emergency number, 203-261-3622, to report storm related concerns, and only use 911 in an emergency.
