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CMP, Versant review December 2022 storm response

The Public Utilities Commission periodically reviews power company responses after severe storms.

HALLOWELL, Maine — In December 2022, back-to-back storms wrecked power grids across Maine. 

On Wednesday, leaders from Maine's two major power companies explained to state leaders how they responded to the widespread outages.

The Maine Public Utilities Commission led a brief review of the Dec. 22 storm response. It was not an investigation, but commission members asked speakers from CMP and Versant what they learned from their response efforts to prepare them for next time. 

CMP's Adam Desrosiers said the company is working on multiple innovations to make life easier for customers and crews.

"We're gonna be installing stronger poles [and] covered conductors. We're gonna be enhancing our vegetation management program," he explained. "We're looking to add automation so that if an outage does occur, our energy control center can quickly sectionalize parts of the circuit that are not damaged and re-energize them."

Those plans, Desroziers said, are contingent on a proposed rate increase. 

The commission on Wednesday also announced dates in late March and April for public comment on both CMP's and Versant's request for rate increases. 

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