Trump Connecticut emergency, Eversource On The Hot Seat.
President Donald Trump approved Connecticut’s emergency declaration on Friday as nearly 500,000 residents are still without power, Gov. Ned Lamont said on Friday.
The emergency declaration allows the state to request federal aid as it recovers from Tropical Storm Isaias.
“This support is significant to supplement our ongoing restoration efforts,” Lamont said on Twitter Friday morning.
On Thursday night, the state’s two largest utility companies said residents could see their power restored as early as this weekend, and no later than Tuesday.
Eversource said it expects to make “significant progress” by the end of the weekend, with most of its restoration efforts “substantially complete” by midnight Tuesday. Fewer than 1 percent of customers may be without power for longer, they said.
Eversource spokesman Al Lara said the company has more than 700 crews working to restore power throughout the state, and they are expecting out-of-state reinforcements on Friday. By the start of the weekend, Lara estimates 1,189 crews will be deployed around Connecticut.