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The outages were caused by a storm that brought heavy wind gusts and rainfall throughout the state beginning on Thursday night, Dec. 22, knocking over trees, branches, and power lines.
As of around 3 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 23, Eversource reported around 62,200 customers without power, according to their outage map.
United Illuminating reported around 500 customers without power as well.
Eversource officials said that crews are working "around-the-clock shifts" to clear roads, assess damage, and restore power to people with the help of the company's Massachusetts team.
As of 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 23, the company had restored power to about 80,000 households, officials said.
Eversource Connecticut President Steve Sullivan acknowledged the poor timing of the storm.
"We know the timing of this storm couldn’t have been worse as people are trying to prepare for the Christmas holiday," he said, adding, "The damaging winds and heavy rains with this storm brought down trees and tree limbs onto overhead lines and equipment causing damage to the electric system and widespread power outages in most of the 149 towns we serve.
"We have hundreds of crews on the ground working but with outages being so widespread it will take time."
Those who encounter fallen power lines should stay away and report them to authorities, officials said, also reminding people to be cautious when using generators. People should make sure that generators are located far away from their residences.
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