I'm assuming everyone has had it restored.

Came back on in Riverhead at midnight the same day.

My power was off a total of eight hours.  It came back on two hours after the initial incident and they had a rolling blackout the following day for six hours.

They helped LI get power restored by turning on the Cross Sound Cable.

www.ctnow.com/news/custom/newsat3/hc-crosssound.artaug16,0,4978813.story?coll=hc-headlines-newsat3

Cross Sound Cable Battle Blamed For Regional Electric Woes

N.Y. Governor Blames Blumenthal's Fight

August 16, 2003
By STEVE GRANT, Courant Staff Writer

New York Gov. George Pataki took a swipe at Connecticut's attorney general Friday, suggesting that his opposition to a transmission cable across Long Island Sound was partly responsible for the region's electric woes.

Meanwhile, the blackout, Pataki's pleas and a sympathetic ear in Washington combined to do something Friday that the owners of Cross Sound Cable have failed to do for more than a year: put the cable into service.

In a morning appearance on NBC's "Today" show, Pataki, a Republican, blamed Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat and a persistent critic of the cable project, for playing "parochial politics," though he didn't name Blumenthal directly.

"For almost a year, we have had a Cross Sound Cable from Connecticut to Long Island in place, but the attorney general in Connecticut sued us - sued to prevent it from being turned on," Pataki told the national audience. "Last night we went back to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, asked again that that cable be turned on, and it was turned on - or it will be turned on today. So, a lot of it is simply that - the parochial politics."

Blumenthal rejected any suggestion that the blackout was connected to the cable not being in operation. New York failed to provide sufficient generating and transmission facilities of its own, he said, and "New York's neglect cannot be excused by a blatantly political statement shifting the blame."

As far as being singled out as a villain in New York's power woes, he said, "I view it as an attack on Connecticut citizens, not me."

Blumenthal defended his actions against the cable company, saying his office supported state agencies that are concerned about the cable's effects on the environment and navigation safety. Though the transmission cable was buried more than a year ago in the sediments of Long Island Sound between New Haven and Long Island, the state Department of Environmental Protection has refused to allow its use because the agency said the cable was not laid properly.

Blumenthal said he first heard about Pataki's comments from the news media, but within moments Connecticut citizens called his office to alert him to Pataki's remarks. He said he had not received complaints Friday about his strong opposition to the cable project.

"On the contrary, the e-mails and calls have all been `right on, continue the fight, how dare the governor of New York blame Connecticut,'" Blumenthal said.

Gov. John G. Rowland stayed out of the flap, saying through a spokesman that he focused all his energy Friday on trying to resolve the state's power problems.

"Comments that may or may not be exchanged between officials, that wasn't his top concern today," said John T. Wiltse, Rowland's deputy communication director.

Pataki and Rowland spoke by phone Friday but did not discuss the Cross Sound Cable issue, Wiltse said. Pataki and Rowland were coordinating a letter asking the U.S. Energy Department to investigate the outage and determine what steps could be taken to prevent another.

Despite Connecticut's problems with the cable, it was put into service Friday on an emergency basis after U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham issued an order saying the cable could be used "to help stabilize voltage between the two states and enable electricity to flow quickly when the generation system is operable, reducing the time needed for full restoration and reliable operation of the electric system." The order is effective until Sept. 1, unless Abraham modifies it.

Rowland, who strongly defended Cross Sound when it was under attack in the legislature, touched on the issue during a session with reporters Friday morning, saying use of the cable seemed to be a moot point because there wasn't enough energy to transmit on either end of the cable.

But shortly after noon, the cable, capable of transmitting 330 megawatts of power, was sending about 100 megawatts of power to Long Island, said Rita Bowlby, spokeswoman for Cross Sound Cable Co. A simple rule of thumb is that each megawatt is enough energy to supply about 1,000 households.

Bowlby said the cable began by distributing power to Long Island, but in moments could be switched to send power from New York into Connecticut.

How the line will be used at any given moment will be determined by the regional power grids serving New York and Connecticut, she said.

"It's running fine," Bowlby said late Friday afternoon.

Erin O'Brien, a spokeswoman for ISO New England, the grid serving Connecticut, said she was unable to say whether the Cross Sound Cable would have helped avert blackouts in Connecticut, or restore them more quickly, because the energy system is so dynamic and changes day to day.

Southwest Connecticut, already identified as an area with transmission problems, was most severely affected, she noted. She said the cable "does not specifically address the reliability concerns that ISO New England has for southwest Connecticut; however, the availability of that line can serve as an additional resource for our control room operators."

The 24-mile cable across the Sound has been kept out of service because it was not laid as deeply as required in seven locations off the New Haven coast. Strict conditions were imposed on the controversial project because of concerns it could cause environmental damage to the Sound or pose safety problems for commercial shipping in New Haven Harbor.

The Cross Sound Cable issue and other proposals for electric or gas transmission projects in the Sound touched off a furor in the legislature in 2002, which led to a moratorium on such projects.

The Cross Sound Cable project, already approved by regulators, was exempted from the moratorium initially, but when the cable was found to be laid improperly and considerable corrective work needed to be done, the state Department of Environmental Protection decided the work amounted to a permit modification, which the department would not consider while the moratorium was in effect. The moratorium has been extended until 2004.

Bowlby said Cross Sound Cable, which went to court and lost in an attempt to overturn the state decision, had been stymied in recent months.

"We were stuck. We were on hold," she said.

"No one wanted to talk to us because of the moratorium. We couldn't get anybody to focus on anything."

Blumenthal said in a statement: "We have grave concerns about the validity of a federal order overriding state permits and laws that presently bar operation and protect critical environmental interests."

He added, "We are reviewing our options for legal action if necessary."

... My hotel in Midtown was out exactly 12 hours.

4:11PM to 4:11AM

Guess I'm lucky. Power only flickered twice, wasnt off for more than 10 seconds each time.

I think there were a couple of rolling blackouts yesterday but I wasnt home for the most part.

[edited to add] I just realized this but... if you dont have power how are you going to answer this thread?

I'm lucky I moved to the Free State of Pennsylvania in 1988.  I had no interuptions in Power at all.

No Quean Hilary, Nobody to mess with my Class III shooting Mac and M16.
On the Other Hand there is Philly. I wonder if we can have Jersey annex Philly. If it wasn't for Philadelphia, Fast Eddie would have lost the election.

NO! you have Philly, we have North Jersey, It is a mutual Pain