Crews from Burlington Electric, Ludlow Electric and Johnson Electric helped Green Mountain Power in its restoration effort, along with crews from Hydro-Quebec and contractors from as far away as Ontario, Colorado, Florida, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Illinois and California. File photo
Rutland — As Green Mountain Power crews restore service to the last Vermonters left without power by the remnants of Superstorm Sandy Nov. 1, the company is making plans to send employees to help bring the power back on in devastated areas in the northeast, including New York and New Jersey.
One out of every five GMP customers experienced outages during the superstorm. Power has been restored to 48,358 of 48,408 affected customers, with the remaining 50 customers expected on this evening.
"We'll quickly transition from taking care of our customers to helping those in other states who are facing days or weeks before power is restored," GMP President and CEO Mary Powell said. "We are thankful we were able to quickly restore service to our customers, and happy to be able to help in areas that suffered severe damage. As others came to our aid this week and following Tropical Storm Irene, we will do whatever we can to help people hit hard by Sandy get back on their feet."
GMP is sending a group of 70 employees, including line workers and support staff, to assist other utilities in the northeast. The exact locations will be determined. The company has also connected contract lineworkers and tree trimmers with other utilities that need help, and coordinated the transition of mutual aid crews who have helped in Vermont to now help in other states.
"Even as we were putting power back on in Vermont, we've been making plans to shift our resources to other areas in need," Powell said.
"GMP did an extraordinary job planning for and repairing the damage caused by the high winds that blew through Vermont, knocking down trees and power lines," Governor Peter Shumlin said. "Their preparation ensured there were enough resources to complete repairs quickly, and that means they can now provide critically needed assistance to our neighbors, who still face serious hardship and enormous challenges."
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