This story has been updated with power outage figures from United Illuminating and Eversource Energy.
The second winter storm in a month so has left more than 1,500 customers without power in Fairfield County as some areas received at least 8 inches of snow and more than a foot in a couple of communities.
Schools and some government offices have been closed due to the storm. Gov. Ned Lamont Sunday announced he ordered all State of Connecticut executive branch office buildings closed to the public on Monday.
As of 10 a.m. Monday, Ridgefield had the most snow with 14 inches followed by Danbury and Bridgeport with 11 inches and Stamford with 10 inches.
For the duration of this storm-related closure, the governor directed that:
- Level 1 executive branch state employees should report to work as scheduled or directed.
- Level 2 executive branch state employees should not report to work in-person to their state offices/work locations. Additionally:
- Level 2 employees who are scheduled to telework on Monday should do so or use their accrued leave; and
- Level 2 employees who are scheduled to report to work in-person to their state offices/work locations on Monday are requested, though not required, to telework, in accordance with the executive branch telework policy.
Decisions regarding the operations of judicial and legislative branch offices are made by the leaders of those respective branches of state government.
“This is an intense storm and it is expected to continue throughout Monday morning and into the afternoon before finally tapering off,” the governor said. “I am urging everyone who does not need to be on the roads to avoid all unnecessary, non-essential travel and do their best to stay home and stay safe.”
As part of the state’s storm protocol, the Connecticut State Emergency Operations Center (EOC) became activated effective Sunday and will remain staffed with representatives of various state agencies and partner organizations throughout the duration of the storm. More snow is predicted in the early afternoon before it tapers off.
Power outages
United Illuminating, a subsidiary of Avangrid that serves most of Fairfield County and nearby New Haven County, reported at 9:57 a.m. that there were 1,156 customers without power. The municipalities most affected are Orange (500), Milford (245), Trumbull (89) and Fairfield (40). Eversource Energy, which serves some municipalities in western Fairfield County, reported the following outages in New Canaan (149), Greenwich (103), Weston (87) and Ridgefield (48). Statewide the power utility reported more than 14,000 outages, most of which occurred outside Fairfield County.
As of 1 p.m. Monday UI is making significant progress on restoring power for customers experiencing an outage due to the current snowstorm. More than 4,000 customers have already been restored, and there are approximately 450 customers currently without power, according to spokesperson Angela Baccaro.
“The heavy snow and gusting wind, along with downed trees and pole hits from motor vehicle accidents, have resulted in power outages across our service territory,” said Angela Baccaro, UI spokesperson. “We are grateful for our crews that have been working hard since early this morning to get everyone’s power back on as quickly and safely as possible. The winds present a challenge for working on power lines, but we have already made significant progress with restoration efforts and expect that the worst of it is behind us. We continue to monitor the situation and encourage customers to stay home and stay away from any downed wires.”
She added that customers can also visit the UI website to report outages at any time and sign up for outage alerts to receive up-to-date information on estimated restoration times.
As of 3 p.m., Eversource has restored power to more than 24,000 customers since the storm began. Approximately 8,700 customers in Connecticut remain without power as a result of the blizzard and crews will stay on the job until service is restored to all affected customers.
