Hunkered Down

Central Maine Power's phone text chirping woke me at 2:45 AM (in the middle of last night) to notify me that a tree overburdened with thick snowfall had fallen and took out the electrical power in this area. I hunkered down in bed, under layers of wool blankets, with a cap warming my head, until 2:35 PM the next day when the power came back on. During those hours I almost finished reading The Ugly American, under the feeble illumination of a battery-powered, clip-on book light. If, or actually when nuclear electromagnetic pulses or massive solar eruptions knock the world back to the stone ages, I will be good for about two weeks, maybe a miserable month. I used to take this kind of thing in stride, now it is much more real to me, and electrical outages put proverbial fear in the pit of my stomach.

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12-04-23 email from CMP, 5:02 PM

"We're responding to this winter storm

Our line and vegetation crews are responding to the heavy wet snow that created hazardous tree and driving conditions during the day Monday.

"Snow clinging to tree limbs has bent branches onto lines causing damage to our electrical infrastructure and some of this damage, such as broken utility poles, will take time to repair. We have both internal and pre-staged external repair crews working together to do this work as safely and efficiently as possible. They have been working throughout the day and we have restored 80% of customers impacted. As the snow and restoration continue, we are urging Maine drivers to observe all laws and best practices that promote safe operation of motor vehicles for the safety of everyone and all those working to respond to this winter weather.

"When will my power be restored?

"Portions of our service territory in Western and Central Maine were most impacted by this storm. As weather and road conditions improve, our remaining customers without power can expect to see successive rounds of damage assessment teams, vegetation teams and line repair teams. Crews will continue working 24/7. However, because of the extent of damage in some of the areas hardest hit, there will be some customers whose power will be restored tomorrow evening.

"We know an outage can be disruptive, so we do our best to provide you with the most up-to-date information we have. To ensure we're able to reach you with updates, please: ..."

Hunkered Down During An Electrical Outage

self-portrait by Annmarie Throckmorton, copyright 12-04-23, 1 & 2