New power outages crop up in Maine

January 1, 2014 at 10:55 a.m.

by The Associated Press

Karen Gibbs walks through a labyrinth of icy broken trees and downed power lines to her home on Maplehurst Drive in Belgrade, Maine on Thursday. Southeast Maine and parts of the state's interior that have been without electricity since Sunday anticipated 3 to 7 inches of snow by the time the latest system pushed off the coast Thursday night. Utilities worried that the additional weight on branches and transmission lines could cause setbacks in the around-the-clock efforts to restore power.
Karen Gibbs walks through a labyrinth of icy broken trees and downed power lines to her home on Maplehurst Drive in Belgrade, Maine on Thursday. Southeast Maine and parts of the state's interior that have been without electricity since Sunday anticipated 3 to 7 inches of snow by the time the latest system pushed off the coast Thursday night. Utilities worried that the additional weight on branches and transmission lines could cause setbacks in the around-the-clock efforts to restore power.

ELLSWORTH, Maine — After restoring power to all but a handful of customers affected by last week's ice storm, a Maine utility is dealing with new outages affecting thousands of homes and businesses.

Bangor Hydro is reporting nearly 9,400 customers without power late Wednesday morning, up from just four earlier in the morning. Most of the new outages are in Hancock County, with more than 1,000 homes and businesses affected in several towns, including Surry, Blue Hill and Stonington.

Meanwhile, Maine Gov. Paul LePage is ending the state of emergency he declared earlier this month due to the ice storm.

LePage signed the emergency proclamation Dec. 21. On Wednesday, his signed a new order saying that emergency conditions have greatly lessened and public safety and health are no longer threatened.

Upcoming Events