Press Releases
04/05/2024
Avangrid Dispatches UI Crews, Resources to Assist Restoration Efforts in Maine
Avangrid Dispatches UI Crews, Resources to Assist Restoration Efforts in Maine
More than 100 lineworkers, 81 tree crews from Avangrid’s Connecticut subsidiary United Illuminating working with hundreds of Central Maine Power crews to restore power to 230,000 impacted customers
B-roll linked HERE; soundbites linked HERE
ORANGE, Conn. — April 5, 2024 — Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), a leading sustainable energy company and member of the Iberdrola Group, has deployed 103 lineworkers, 81 tree crews, 41 bucket and digger derrick trucks, and 45 support staff, including damage assessors and crew guides, from its Connecticut subsidiary United Illuminating to Maine. UI crews are working hand-in-hand with more than hundreds of other line and tree crews in restoration efforts after a powerful Nor’easter knocked out power to nearly 350,000 customers earlier this week. 1,000 crews will be working through the weekend to restore power.
“During powerful storms like this Nor’easter, all Avangrid companies, including Central Maine Power and United Illuminating, are committed to doing whatever it take to restore power to our customers as quickly and as safely as possible,” said Pedro Azagra, Avangrid CEO. “By tapping into our extensive interstate network of dedicated field professionals, Avangrid is uniquely positioned to deploy our resources across the Northeast to meet weather emergencies wherever and whenever they arise. I thank the men and women of UI for working tirelessly with the dedicated CMP team to restore power to our Maine communities in need.”
The crews deployed from UI include internal line and service crews, external line crews, external tree crews and internal supervisors, damage assessment crews, crew guides, and storekeepers. While UI faced minor impacts from the same storm system, line crews restored power to all UI customers before deploying to Maine. They have joined hundreds of other line and tree crews working along CMP who have been working around the clock in severe conditions caused by the heavy snow and high winds, including battling damaged and fallen trees, broken poles, and downed power lines. Together, internal and external crews have already restored power to nearly 140,000 customers since the storm began on Wednesday, and they anticipate they will work throughout the weekend to restore remaining customers affected by the storm.
The collaborative storm response effort is part of Avangrid’s multi-state network of resources to assist its hardest hit service areas to bolster response times. The company deployed similar assistance of personnel and equipment during the historic flooding event in December 2023 and during Hurricane Lee in September 2023.
About Avangrid: Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) aspires to be the leading sustainable energy company in the United States. Headquartered in Orange, CT with approximately $44 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states, Avangrid has two primary lines of business: networks and renewables. Through its networks business, Avangrid owns and operates eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and New England. Through its renewables business, Avangrid owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities across the United States. Avangrid employs approximately 8,000 people and has been recognized by JUST Capital in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 as one of the JUST 100 companies – a ranking of America’s best corporate citizens. In 2024, Avangrid ranked first among utilities and 12 overall. The company supports the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals and was named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2024 for the sixth consecutive year by the Ethisphere Institute. Avangrid is a member of the group of companies controlled by Iberdrola, S.A. For more information, visit www.avangrid.com.
About Iberdrola: Iberdrola is one of the world's biggest energy companies and a leader in renewables, spearheading the energy transition to a low carbon economy. The group supplies energy to almost 100 million people in dozens of countries. With a focus on renewable energy, smart networks and smart solutions for customers, Iberdrola’s main markets include Europe (Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy and Greece), the United States, Brazil, Mexico and Australia. The company is also present in growth markets such as Japan, Taiwan, Ireland, Sweden and Poland, among others.
With a workforce of nearly 40,000 and assets in excess of €141.7 billion, across the world, Iberdrola helps to support 400,000 jobs across its supply chain, with annual procurement of €12.2 billion. A benchmark in the fight against climate change, Iberdrola has invested more than €130 billion over the past two decades to help build a sustainable energy model, based on sound environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles.
