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Power Restoration Expected To Be A 'Multi-Day Process' In Maine, New Hampshire After Storm

PORTLAND, Maine (CBS/AP) — About 143,000 Maine electric customers were still without power Sunday after the first major winter storm of the season brought heavy, wet snow and high winds to the region.

Central Maine Power, which accounts for about 127,000 of the outages in Maine, said officials were trying to determine how long it will take to restore power to all its customers. But based on historical comparisons to similar storms it could be three to five days before electricity service is fully restored.

"This storm caused significant tree and limb damage as a result of heavy, wet snow and strong winds," said CMP Executive Chairman David Flanagan. "Crews worked hard overnight to ensure conditions were made safe, and those efforts will continue throughout the day today. Facing more wind today, our crews will work as quickly as possible to restore power to our customers."

In addition to the outages in Maine, more than 40,000 customers are without power in New Hampshire were without power as of 1 p.m. Sunday. At its peak, there were 61,000 outages in New Hampshire.

Officials there said restoration efforts could last into Tuesday evening. Residents are encouraged to seek alternative warm housing if necessary.

Power has been restored to all but a handful of customers in Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island.

The storm that hit the region Saturday causing numerous traffic accidents and dumped heavy wet snow onto the region before moving into the Canadian Maritime provinces.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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