Fairfield's Power Comes Back On, Slowly

FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Thousands in town were still powerless Monday morning in southern Connecticut after Tropical Storm Irene, but United Illuminating says it has crews working “diligently” to restore the damage. After a long night with no improvement, lights are finally starting to come back on for affected Fairfield residents.

“Conditions are constantly changing, and our restoration crews and support staffs are working with the state and municipal officials to evaluate the damage and coordinate restoration activities,” said Anthony J. Vallillo, executive vice president and chief operating officer of UI. “We appreciate our customers’ patience as we begin this massive restoration effort.”

At about midnight Monday, 13,987 Fairfielders had no electricity, or 64 percent of the customers in town. Although that number held for most of the morning, the latest report from United Illuminating shows the number going down, with 10,941 outages, or 50 percent, by 11 a.m.

The company says its top priority will be to head to high-density areas first, “restoring circuits carrying large numbers of customers.” Bridgeport’s number of outages is already down to 6,908 customers, or 12 percent of the city, down from its peak of 35,289 on Sunday. But much of New Haven is still without power, with 33 percent in the dark, or 17,382 customers, at 11 a.m.

The Daily Fairfield’s social media feeds show the wide range of situations in Fairfield. Facebook friend Mary Ellen Nagy Busillo posted, “I only lost power for 4 hours yesterday.” But Twitter followers Andrew Becker and Susannah Violino were not so lucky. “No power since 6 am yesterday,” Becker tweeted. “Yep, no power. Mill Plain Road at Carroll,” said Violino.

Have your lights turned back on yet? Tell us where your outages are, and where there’s power, in the comments below.

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