Frustrations Boil Over as Tolland Endures Ninth Day Without Power

It's the ninth day without power in Tolland and a little more than a quarter of the town is still without power, according to CL&P's outage map statistics.

The percentage can be measured as 1,571 customers, but one can also multiply that by the number of children and friends and siblings in each customer's home. It can be measured in the number of pallets of water the town of Tolland has distributed to those without. It can be analyzed using the weather forecast of below freezing temperatures that many residents have experienced during the last couple of nights.

Frustration is cresting all over town, and the Tolland EOC is no exception. The Town Manager sent out an e-blast earlier today, reminding callers not to yell at the employees answering the phones at town hall.

"I know everyone is at their wits end, but I ask that if you call the Town Hall for information that you do so with some civility," Werbner said in an email earlier Monday morning to Tolland residents. "The calls we are receiving this morning are personally threatening and the language is upsetting to the secretaries taking the calls."

Werbner spoke on behalf of the town's anger during a state-wide conference call with Governor Dannel Malloy and CL&P President Jeff Butler on Monday morning.

"Large towns are resolving their issues," he said " All those crews should be flooding these locations [severly affected areas]" The Farmington valley area and the towns in northern Tolland county were identified as those most in need during the call.

While CL&P predicts that by Wednesday right before midnight, the town manager remained skeptical of the company's claims when they have been proven false before.

"It's inaccurate at best," Werbner said. " I have no confidence in the estimates they're providing."

According to the debriefing at the EOC this morning, Tolland has 76 line issues that serve multiple customers and 170 that serve only a customer each. CL&P liaison Jim Shuckerow said that crews are only allocated to work on the multiple-customer lines today.

However, the number of crews assigned to Tolland were increased to 57 during the day, so there may be hope for faster restoration.

In the meantime, the will be open to residents as a shelter. According to Emergency Management Director John Littell, the senior center was closed in order to get it ready as a polling place in . He said that those using the center had already gone home, and that the town will be helping residents until all the power is back on.

The drinking water filling station will be closing at the high school, but is still available at the Fire Training Center. The high school is also still open for showers for Tolland residents.

"We're not going anywhere," Littell said.