AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) Maine officials have testified that the response to the October wind storm was hampered by miscommunication and equipment failures.
The Portland Press Herald reports the state Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee heard testimony concerning the storm response by Central Maine Power Co. and Emera Maine. Nearly 470,000 Central Maine Power customers lost service and it took workers 10 days to fully restore service.
Harpswell officials said that CMP didn’t communicate effectively about downed power lines, causing public safety hazards. Town officials also said the outage maps weren’t accurate.
CMP vice president Eric Stinneford agreed that there was room for improvement but said the company pulled off a “remarkable effort” in the first five days. The company estimates the storm caused $69 million in damage to the power grid.
