WFSB Channel 3Frustration mounts as 428K customers without power

Frustration mounts as 428K customers without power

Frustration continues to mount as another day passes after Winter Storm Alfred and 428,075 CL&P customers still remain in the dark.

At a morning press conference on Wednesday, the utility company answered to criticism that it has taken out-of-state crews too long to get to arrive to help.

Jeff Butler, the company's CEO, said crews from 15 to 20 different states as well as Canada are in the state working to restore power.

"We have more line crews on the property than at the same point with Irene. The challenge is, how do we get them sooner after the event?" Butler said. "It would have been nice to have 600 line crews here on Monday not Wednesday."

Butler said the company is on schedule to have 99 percent of its customers back on line by the end of Sunday.

Gov. Dannel Malloy on Wednesday said fully restoring power by Sunday is just too far away for many.

"I'm pushing them (CL&P) to get it done as fast as possible," Malloy said.

When pressed by reporters, Butler refused to answer directly to question about what costs will be passed on to consumers, saying "it's a process."

Some say the delay is because CL&P didn't pay contractors quickly enough after Tropical Storm Irene. The I-Team contacted all 97 and most had no complaints.

Four contractors said they still haven't been paid and Campbell Electric said they've only sent a third of their crews out compared to Irene.

Butler doesn't believe payment caused a problem but admits something needs to change in the future.

Malloy on Wednesday also said a task force will look at how CL&P handled its response to the massive power outage.

He urged homeowners and renters to reach out to their insurance companies to see what is and isn't reimbursed.

After all power is restored, the company estimates it will have spent $750,000 to $1 million on the restoration.

Copyright 2011 WFSB. All rights reserved. The Associated press contributed to this report.