Bangor Hydro Says Reconnect Deadlines Pushed Back

Deadlines for Mainers to get their power restored have been pushed back, as crews find the damage is more extensive than expected. Cutting and clearing out damaged tree limbs is time-consuming and today's snow is not helping matters.

Bangor Hydro spokesperson Susan Faloon says the new deadlines are as follows:

• Customers in Washington county can expect power by midnight Saturday
• Penobscot County customers will have power by midnight Sunday
• Hardest-hit Washington County, the deadline is midnight Wednesday.

Faloon says crews are working hard, and they ask for the cooperation of customers, on several fronts. First and foremost, customers are asked to leave the clearing of trees, limbs, and downed lines to the experts. There's no way to look at a line and tell if it's energized, so touching it or anything else it's come in contact with could be dangerous or even fatal.

Many grateful Mainers have been stopping their cars in the roadway to thank crew members or to bring them cups of hot beverages. Faloons says, while they greatly appreciate the sentiment, approaching workers could be dangerous. A distracted worker could cause a deadly accident. And stopping your vehicle in the roadway could cause a dangerous situation. She says instead, let the crews do their work, uninterrupted.

Improperly installed generators are another factor. While we usually think of carbon monoxide poisoning, another threat to a poorly installed generator is to the line worker. An improperly installed device could back-feed into the electrical system. Obviously, that is very dangerous for crews working on nearby power lines.

If customers are unsure if their outage is in the utility's system, they should call the company's customer service center at (207) 947-2414 to confirm.  Customers may report additional outages or ask questions by calling the customer service center at 1-800-440-1111.