PORTLAND, Maine — Both of Maine's electric companies are preparing for yet another punch as strong winds are expected to knock out power to thousands Monday.
This comes after a spring snow storm caused more than 250,000 outages across the state last week, causing crews to work throughout the holiday weekend to try and get power restored.
"We've got a challenge for sure on our hands. Our number one focus right now is redirecting customers on before this next weather event hits," Central Maine Power's president Doug Herling said.
As of Monday at 5:30 p.m., CMP reported 15,414 customers were without power and Emera Maine had 7,782. Many of those outages are across Central Maine.
Wind gusts upwards of 50-60 mph could make matters worse come Monday afternoon and evening.
The strongest gusts are expected in the Midcoast area and Downeast.
"The worst case scenario for me personally is we're going to have some customers that are not going to be restored when this next storm hits," Herling said."To these customers, we apologize. We're working as hard as we can to make that number as small as possible, but I know that number is not going to be zero."
CMP was able to restore power to 90-percent of customers over the weekend.
Herling said the company is anticipating anywhere from 20,000 to 60,000 additional outages this time around.
He also added that about half of the out-of-state crews called into help in the last storm were pulled back to where they come from to prepare for outages there, which could further complicate restoration efforts.
Crews with both Emera and CMP scrambled to get as many customers back online Monday morning before the winds ramped up.
Safety protocols prohibit line workers from being able to go up to repair lines in winds above 40 mph.
Officials with Emera Maine said customers should prepare for the possibility of several days without power.
"We would ask our customers to do what they can to prepare to make sure they have a supply of fresh water, batteries, flashlights. But please know we will not stop working until the last customer is back online," Judy Long, spokesperson for Emera Maine, said.
Given the COVID-19 pandemic, both companies strongly advise people to not approach line workers and other personnel in the field.