Governor Rell Declares State of Emergency

I know each and every one of you has been affected by the weekend’s devastating storm. Given its severity, Governor Rell yesterday declared a state of emergency. Area schools remain closed today and nearly 40,000 homes are still without power. I know most of you lost power and many of you may still be without electricity.

Please know I am working with emergency management officials, Connecticut Light and Power (CL-P) and United Illuminating (UI) to restore power as quickly as possible and, importantly, to have accurate answers regarding when service will resume. At this point, representatives from CL-P are currently estimating a return of power to nearly all customers within the next 48 to 60 hours.

To speed up this process, utility crews from Canada, Oklahoma and Ohio have joined Connecticut crews and workers. We are thankful for their generous efforts and service.

At Governor Rell’s direction, the state Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMHS) is working with Connecticut cities and towns to tally damage to public property and to homes and businesses, as well as expenses incurred in responding to the storm, to determine whether the state could qualify for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The state Department of Transportation (DOT) also is working to reopen Fairfield County roads that have been closed due to flooding, downed trees or the presence of live wires.

Please pass this information along to friends and family. If you or anyone else has not yet reported a power outage (it is important to make these calls and not rely on others to do so), please call CL-P’s automated customer support line at 1-800-286-2000. As always, if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family, please contact my office at 800.842,1421 or [email protected].