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Maine's utility companies prepare for powerful storm

Leaders with Central Maine Power and Versant Power said Friday's rain and wind storm might cause outages for multiple days.

MAINE, USA — Just one day before a powerful rain and wind storm is expected to blanket Maine, the state's utility companies say they're ready to respond through the holidays.

"Likely, this is going to be a multi-day resonation," Adam Desrosiers, Central Maine Power's vice president of electric operations, said. 

According to CMP, more than 300 contractor crews and 220 tree crews from Canada, down to Georgia, are positioned in Maine and are prepared to respond to the storm. Desrosiers said a number of the crews from out of state have remained in Maine following last week's winter storm to help with restoration.

"We've also been bringing in additional resources throughout the week that will all arrive today and be ready to go for this weekend," Desrosiers said.

Versant Power communications specialist Tina Morrill said Versant has more than 100 crews ready to respond to the storm. Morrill added that with high winds expected, it could be a multi-day restoration process in Versant's coverage area too.

"We have a full complement of tree crews as well because we do know there will be downed trees, downed lines. That's just unfortunate with the wind that is coming," Morrill said. 

With restoration potentially through Christmas Eve and Christmas, Versant and CMP both said their crews are ready to work through the holidays if needed. And coverage plans have been established to keep crews working through the night to restore power as quickly as possible.

"We know that a lot of these workers are going to be away from their families. We also know that it's really important to make sure that our customers have reliable electricity, and they're online as they should be," Morrill said. 

"We work for a utility," Desrosiers said. "We're used to working holidays and weekends and nights. But Christmas is definitely a tough one. You hate to have to pull these folks away from their families on Christmas. But when you come to work for a utility, it's kind of one of those things that you understand is going to happen eventually. And everybody answers the call, and everybody comes in ready to work and help restore power for our customers."

Both CMP and Versant want to remind the public to never touch downed lines. If you do encounter one, you can report it to CMP by calling 800-572-1131, and Versant Power at 1-855-363-7211 or 207-973-2000. 

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