Sustainable energy company Avangrid has sent a team from its Connecticut subsidiary United Illuminating (UI) to help Maine after a storm-caused power cuts, affecting nearly 350,000 customers. The UI team consists of 103 lineworkers, 81 tree crews, 41 trucks, and 45 support staff. Overall, 1,000 crews are working to restore power over the weekend.
“During powerful storms like this Nor’easter, all Avangrid companies, including Central Maine Power and United Illuminating, are committed to doing whatever it takes to restore power to our customers as quickly and as safely as possible,” said Pedro Azagra, Avangrid CEO. “By tapping into our extensive interstate network of dedicated field professionals, Avangrid is uniquely positioned to deploy our resources across the Northeast to meet weather emergencies wherever and whenever they arise. I thank the men and women of UI for working tirelessly with the dedicated CMP team to restore power to our Maine communities in need.”
The UI team includes line crews, tree crews, supervisors, damage assessors, guides, and storekeepers. Despite facing minor impacts themselves, the crews restored power to all their customers before heading to Maine. There, they are helping hundreds of other crews working in difficult conditions to clear fallen trees, fix broken poles, and restore power lines.
Nearly 140,000 customers have had their power restored since the storm started as of April 3, 2024.
Avangrid has a network of resources across multiple states to help the areas worst hit by storms. This deployment to Maine is similar to what it did during the December 2023 floods and Hurricane Lee in September 2023.
