Central Maine Power Co. had restored electricity Tuesday night to most of the 95,000 customers who lost service after power lines were damaged by strong winds that swept through the state early in the day, toppling trees and snapping limbs.
Just under 7,400 customers remained without power as of 10:13 p.m. Tuesday, according to CMP’s website. The utility company, a subsidiary of Avangrid Inc., said in a statement that electricity should be restored to all of its customers by late Tuesday or Wednesday.
The utility said it had called in reinforcements from Connecticut and New York to repair downed lines. In addition to repairing roadside distribution lines damaged by falling trees and limbs, CMP has been using drones and helicopters to survey damage to transmission lines in remote areas.
“Anyone who does not have power back by late Tuesday can expect restoration on Wednesday,” CMP said.
High winds started toppling tree branches across Maine overnight, and they came down on power lines, knocking out power. At dawn Tuesday, CMP reported 60,000 outages.
Cumberland County was hardest hit, with more than 13,000 homes and businesses – nearly 10 percent of all the customers in the county – losing power. Nearly 3,000 customers were without power in Windham and more than 1,200 in Gorham at the peak of outages.
Emera Maine, the electric utility company serving northern and eastern Maine, reported 329 customers without power at 9 p.m., with the highest concentration of outages in the Medway and Millinocket areas.
In Wilton, in Franklin County, the transfer station was closed Tuesday after power lines were downed overnight, the Franklin Journal reported. Town Manager Rhonda Irish said the town hopes to reopen the facility on Wednesday.
Strong, gusty winds continued through Tuesday morning, with the strongest winds in higher elevations, according to the National Weather Service in Gray. The highest wind gusts recorded overnight included 53 mph at Matinicus Rock, 47 mph at Portland International Jetport and 44 mph in Cape Neddick, the weather service said.
Several school districts announced delays or cancellations Tuesday. There was a two-hour delay in RSU 58 in Kingfield and RSU 72 in Fryeburg. There were no classes at Yarmouth schools, Sebago Elementary School, Andover Elementary School, Athens Community School, Chop Point School in Woolwich, Cornville Regional Charter School and Mountain Valley High School.
Staff Writer Dennis Hoey contributed to this report.
Gillian Graham can be contacted at:
ggraham@pressherald.com
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