Town of Redding – UPDATE
Thursday August 6, 2020
This is First Selectman Julia Pemberton calling with a Thursday evening update on storm Isaias recovery efforts.
The Town of Redding remains under a State of Emergency and our recovery efforts are ongoing. Governor Lamont declared a State of Emergency for the State of Connecticut and has requested Federal assistance. CT National Guard has been activated.
The Eversource response in the aftermath of this storm is outrageously unacceptable. A formal complaint will be lodged with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, the body with the power to sanction Eversource.
48 hours from the end of the storm, over 95% of the town is still without power. 20 roads are blocked with trees and wires. These are trees our Highway Department cannot remove due to the electrical wires. All known tree issues have been relayed to Eversource.
We are all frustrated, and even angry, by the lack of response from Eversource. Please do not jeopardize your personal safety by cutting your way through the trees. Wires can be hard to see when tangled in the branches.
Water is available from hoses at Town Hall and the Redding Community Center. This is general purpose water and not suitable for drinking.
Drinkable water via hose is available at Joel Barlow High School. Enter the rear parking lot via Turney Road and go to the loading dock.
A charging station is set up at the Redding Community Center.
When utilizing the town buildings please observe all social distancing guidelines. Masks are required to enter the buildings
If you have not already, please sign up to receive alerts from the Town. Visit townofreddingct.org and subscribe to updates.
This afternoon Redding residents received a mass communication from Eversource with an estimated restoration time of 4pm. It is only an estimate and at this time. I do not have much confidence in that estimate. We continue to press Eversource officials for additional crews in town.
Presently Eversource crews are in town working to restore power by addressing the main circuits first and damage to the Peaceable Street Substation. Main circuit repairs can restore power to a significant number of households at one time.
I will provide another phone update in the morning. In the meantime, I will post updates to Redding’s official Facebook page as I receive new information. The town will also email via Redding Alerts.
Thank you.
Julia Pemberton
First Selectwoman
