UI Reports Restoration Progress as Crews Address Hazards

Nearly 30K customers have power back, but restoration efforts will continue for days

ORANGE, Conn. — August 5, 2020 (4:30 p.m. EDT) — United Illuminating, subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), reported significant progress Wednesday, working with local communities to address downed lines and road hazards left by Tropical Storm Isaias and restoring service to more than 32,000 customers.

UI had 465 restoration personnel working to get the power back on, including its own crews, contractors and mutual assistance. However, with approximately 91,000 customers still out of service as of Wednesday at 4:30 p.m., UI officials said they expect restoration efforts to continue for several days to come.

“Tropical Storm Isaias was a significant weather event, comparable to major storms Connecticut has faced in the past,” said Tony Marone, UI’s President and CEO. “We saw damage across our electric system, in all of the 17 towns and cities we serve, with more than 1,600 outage-causing events and more than 1,000 wires down that for safety reasons crews must address.”

Marone added: “We planned for this storm and marshalled significant restoration resources ahead of its arrival. We appreciate everyone’s patience as our crews work diligently, putting safety first, to get power restored to every customer.”

The company’s initial focus on Wednesday was on clearing blocked roads, assessing damage, and working with local municipalities to restore service to identified critical facilities. As this phase of work begins to wrap up, crews will turn their attention to addressing outages affecting large numbers of customers.

The company said that, as it completes its assessment of damage from the storm, it will be able to provide a global restoration timeframe.

The company reminded customers to stay far away from downed wires, which can be live and dangerous even if they show no signs of being energized. Customers are advised to keep kids and pets inside, and never drive over a downed wire. Always report any downed wires to UI at 800.722.5584 (800.CALLUI).

Report an Outage:

To report an outage, visit uinet.com or call 800.722.5584 (800.7.CALL.UI). Customers can also report outages using the company’s new mobile app, available from the Apple Store and Google Play. Or, they can report outages via UI’s mobile alerts system: text “OUT” to 839-884 (TEXT-UI). Registration is required.

Outage Alerts:

Sign up for free Outage Alerts at uinet.com to be notified by text, email or phone when you lose service and for restoration updates. Or, sign up for free text alerts by texting “REG” to 839-884 (TEXT-UI).

Additional Information:

Storm relief resources can be found by calling Connecticut’s InfoLine at 2-1-1, or by visiting www.211ct.org.

#  #  #


Node: liferay-1:8080