Here’s Why Central Maine PowerTemporarily Shut Off Power to Thousands of Customers During Last Week’s Heatwave

If you lost power during last week's heatwave, you are not along.

According to an article on the WCSH 6 website, thousands of Central Maine Power customers in southern and central Maine temporarily lost electricity during last week's extreme heat, but the outages were intentional.

According to Central Maine Power, the controlled outages were implemented to protect electrical equipment that had been pushed to its limits by several days of unusually high demand.

With residents and businesses relying heavily on air conditioning during the heat wave leading up to the Fourth of July, the utility said portions of its system were under significant strain.

CMP spokesperson Dustin Wlodkowski said some equipment, including a substation transformer in Ogunquit, had been operating under heavy stress for days.  He explained that crews temporarily shut off power so they could install a mobile substation to add capacity and reduce the risk of a major equipment failure that could have left customers without electricity for days.

CMP's Hayden Barkar said transporting and installing the large mobile substation over the busy holiday weekend presented logistical challenges, particularly in Ogunquit, where Route 1 experiences heavy tourist traffic around the Fourth of July.  Despite the congestion, Barkar said the project was completed safely and without major issues.

The planned outages affected about 3,440 customers. The work impacted portions of Ogunquit, Wells, and Kennebunkport, while a separate project temporarily interrupted service in Gray, Raymond, New Gloucester, Durham, and Pownal.

man in red and black jacket wearing orange helmet

Wlodkowski acknowledged that losing power during a heat wave is especially difficult, but said the temporary outages were necessary to avoid potentially much longer and more widespread outages if critical equipment had failed unexpectedly.

According to CMP, the longest planned outage lasted about five and a half hours, with interruptions taking place Friday evening between 4:40 p.m. and 11 p.m.

CMP also said it attempted to notify customers while the outages were taking place, although some customers later reported they never received notification before their power was shut off.