Hurricane Irene: Outage Updates

VIEW THE MOST RECENT PRESS RELEASES:
http://www.cvps.com/AboutUs/news/news.aspx

Sept. 6 Update: Restoration was complete this weekend.
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Below are photos from the restoration effort.

Photos from Sept. 3

CVPS crews and contract crews continue to work in the Plymouth area.

CVPS crews and contract crews continue to work in the Plymouth area.

Damage to power lines along Wheelerville Road in Mendon.

Photos from Sept. 2

Damage to roads and power lines in the Cavendish area.

Damage to roads and power lines in the Cavendish area.

Damage to roads and power lines in the Cavendish area.

Photos from Aug. 31 and Sept. 1.

Left: Damage at the Rochester Substation. Right: CVPS crews and contractors work along a line in the Wardsboro area.

The second story of a decimated house in South Newfane, blocking a road that is completely washed out behind the remains of the house.

A washed out road in south Newfane. Cars and bicycles are now traveling on residents' lawn near the road to get through.

A damaged pole and line in front of the washed out bridge connecting Route 73 from Brandon to Route 100 in Rochester.

Photos from Aug. 31.

Gov. Peter Shumlin and Sen. Bill Carris.visited the CVPS storm command center Wednesday, and toured our central scheduling area

Photos from Aug. 30.

Our Rochester Substation on Aug. 30. The substation will need to be rebuilt, as it was nearly destroyed.

The intersection of Route 73 (from Brandon) and Route 100 Tuesday, Aug. 30.

Left: Route 4 in Mendon from the air Tuesday, Aug. 30. Right: A contract line worker trudges through the mud to reach a line in Rutland County.


Customers in the Rochester area help our Royalton Operations Supervisor with his dirt bike that he rode into the area Monday, Aug. 29

Left: Coolers with lunches that are delivered to workers in the field. Right: A CVPS transportation vehicle at the base of Route 4 in Mendon where the emergency road (only accessible to emergency and utility vehicles, NOT accessible the to the public) has been built.

ROAD CLOSURES THROUGH VT 511:
http://www.511vt.com/default.asp?area=VT_statewide

Route 4 in Mendon, Aug. 29.

Photos from the Rutland area Sunday, Aug. 28.

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 you 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.

Power outages, call 1-800-451-2877.

Additional safety tips can be found at: http://www.cvps.com/Safety/StormSafety.aspx

When electricity goes out, the utilities' first concern is safety, then restoring service to large blocks of customers and critical facilities, like hospitals.

Who gets power restored first?
When electricity goes out, the utilities' first concern is safety.  Line work and downed lines present great risks to employees and customers, so safety is a grave concern.  Always stay at least 50 feet from downed lines!

When major storms hit and outages occur, we try to restore service to all of our customers as soon as possible. Here's a look at our priorities:

1. Problems that present an imminent danger to life.
2. Failure at a key point on the system affecting thousands of customers, such as a transmission line (a main highway of the power system).
3. Critical health and public safety facilities.
4. Main distribution lines, which are smaller than transmission lines, but may serve hundreds of customers.
5. Single lines.
6. Single customers.
7. Cleanup work.