HARPSWELL

Members of the Maine Legislature took Central Maine Power to task Thursday over what they said was a lack of preparation for an October wind storm that knocked out electricity throughout the state, striking the Midcoast the hardest.

The storm’s impact and CMP’s response were discussed as Midcoast legislators joined Harpswell selectmen at their regular meeting.

“I think Harpswell and Freeport were probably the two towns that were hit hardest,” said Sen. Everett “Brownie” Carson, DHarpswell. “There are a lot of answers that CMP needs to provide to us about their lack of preparedness for this event.”

“I’m very concerned … about both the readiness and the response from CMP,” said Rep. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham. “I think there are some really important lessons that I hope the entire state can learn from this.”

Berry pointed to a lack of preparedness on CMP’s part, saying that recent layoffs of linemen left the company understaffed for the disaster. He also stated that there weren’t enough assessors on the ground looking at damage, which contributed to poor coordination of CMP resources. Part of the prob- lem was that the Legislature had not exercised enough oversight, he added.

“I think state policy has fallen short, in many respects,” said Berry.

People throughout the region faced as much as a week without power and reported having difficulty connecting with CMP.

“I very briefly heard from people throughout the district, particularly down long roads like Route 123 and some roads in Freeport, about how difficult and long the outage was,” said Carson. “And that there were real problems with getting through to CMP. That CMP was actually not providing accurate information on their website.”

“One of the most concerning things for me was not even getting power restored, but as you mentioned, these long roads,” added Board of Selectmen Chairman Richard Daniel. “One in particular was Neil’s Point Road, where we had a tree come down entangled in wires.”

With no one authorized to clear these trees with downed wires, residents at the end of long roads can be trapped without supplies for days.

“It’s one thing to wait 6, 7 days for power,” said Daniel. “It’s another thing to wait 6 or 7 days to be able resupply your generator because a fuel truck can’t get down.”

Gordon Weil, who wrote the book “Blackout” on the electricity industry, suggested that more could be done to empower residents or communities to clear roads with downed wires — as long as they were not energized.

“We just moved the tree off our road … because we knew the line wasn’t energized,” said Weil. “CMP can inform people whether a line was energized or not, which would allow the removal of trees.”

He also suggested that the town push CMP to adopt tree wire.

“Our big problem, no question, in Harpswell is trees going over on the line, and there’s an answer to that,” said Weil. “It’s something called tree wire, and it ought to be installed by CMP.”

Tree wire, he said, is a type of wire that prevents outages when a tree touches a wire.

Berry said that while he’s not sure what form it will take yet, the Legislature will be setting up a process to gather input from communities on the power outages. He encouraged interested people in Harpswell to travel to Augusta during the next legislative session to share their stories.

“Without the public testimony and input, we are entirely dependent on Central Maine Power to report on the entire experience … how it was managed, how it went,” said Berry. “That is why we need your continued input and involvement.”

Meanwhile, The Associated Press reported Thursday that Gov. Paul LePage is asking for a federal disaster declaration, as the state has documented $4.7 million in public infrastructure damage. The AP reports that small businesses also could become eligible for aid, but not individuals who generally rely on insurance.

nstrout@timesrecord.com

Also in Harpswell

• THE HARPSWELL Board of Selectmen picked Woolwich-based construction company Reed & Reed to remove the dilapidated former Navy pier at Mitchell Field at their meeting Thursday. Story, page A6.