Courtney calls on Federal Government to coordinate out-of-state utility crews to help restore power in Connecticut

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Joe Courtney today urged Secretary of Energy Dr. Stephen Chu and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to coordinate out-of-state utility crews to help restore power and utilities in Connecticut after Hurricane Irene.

Courtney sent the following letter today:

August 30, 2011

Dear Secretary Napolitano and Secretary Chu:

As you know, my state of Connecticut is working to recover from the serious impact of Hurricane Irene. One of the most urgent needs faced by my constituents is the lack of power – in fact, Connecticut was one of the hardest hit states in terms of power outages, with outages outpacing records set in prior hurricanes and an uncertain timeline for restoration.

As communities in eastern Connecticut work to restore vital services for their citizens and clean up from the storm, one area of potential assistance that would make an impact would be the coordination of out of state utility crews to help restore power and utilities. In particular, I note that Emergency Support Function #12 already exists, according to documentation on the Department of Energy's website, "to facilitate the restoration of damaged energy systems and components when activated by the Secretary of Homeland Security for incidents requiring a coordinated Federal response."

I understand that Governor Dan Malloy is seeking assistance on this matter from your departments in unlocking any assistance available to help address this pressing need in our state. I ask you immediately take every available step to fulfill his request. With the unprecedented impact of the storm in knocking down trees and power lines, we literally need all the help we can get in restoring power to our citizens.

Thank you in advance for your assistance as you work to help our state and communities recover from the storm. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of any assistance in getting this help to Connecticut.

Sincerely,

Joe Courtney

###