More than 600 Vermont electricity customers were still without power as of 2:30 p.m. Monday, three days after the remnants of Hurricane Debby hit the state, according to data from utility company VT Outages, which tracks data from electric providers in the state.
Almost all of the remaining outages affected customers of the Vermont Electric Cooperative, which serves a wide swath of northern Vermont. The longest outages were concentrated in Chittenden and Franklin counties, with more than 150 customers each without power in Essex and Underhill. VEC officials did not respond to requests for comment Monday afternoon.
At its peak, the storm caused nearly 1,000 power outages, leaving more than 50,000 customers without electricity as high winds and rain hit Vermont. That number gradually dropped, with about 28,000 outages as of 6 a.m. Saturday, 8,500 as of 6 a.m. Sunday and 1,400 as of 6 a.m. Monday.
Leah Korce of Richford was one of the last customers to have power restored. She was walking around her 67-acre property Friday evening when she heard a loud bang and “saw a white light running from one end of the property to the other,” she told VTDigger. Poles had fallen and wires were hanging loose in several places.
She immediately called the Vermont Electric Cooperative, but when workers arrived the next morning, they said they needed special equipment to fix the outage. It wasn’t until 8:30 a.m. on Monday that a crew arrived and completely fixed the outage.
Korce said she was frustrated by the lack of clarity about when her power would be restored and by the co-op’s customer service, but praised those working on the ground to restore power.
“It’s not the crews’ fault,” she said. “The guys are great.”
