MAINE, USA — COVID-19 is making it more challenging for power companies like Central Maine Power and Emera Maine to prepare for a spring storm.
Putting extra safety precautions in place to follow CDC social distancing guidelines and keep line workers safe.
"At this time we do not expect that these protocols will interfere in our storm response," Judy Long from Emera Maine said.
CMP is also taking steps to practice social distancing on the job.
"Work two people in a bucket truck and, you know that is unacceptable for social distancing so we have the second person in a vehicle behind the truck," CMP CEO Doug Herling said.
Many people are working from home during the coronavirus situation, which means you might be without power for a while. Officials say if you're stocked up on food, be sure to keep the doors to your refrigerator and freezer closed as much as possible in the event you do lose power and make sure you have things on hand to eat that you can make without electricity.
For those of you working from home, officials remind you to plug in all your devices so you're charged up and ready to go.
And if you see crews in your neighborhood, "We would encourage people not to approach them and not to try to ask them questions and respect their safety," Herling said.
At Emera, some of the people who may take your power outage call may also be working from home, but Long said her staff will still be working as quickly as possible to get your power back on.
To report an outage if you have Emera, call 207-973-2000 or 1-855-363-7211 or go online.
To report an outage if you have CMP, 1-800-696-1000 or go online.
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