To the Editor:
After nearly four days without power, I have to say that hearing the CMP ad that tells us “to flip a switch and they will be there” is becoming like rubbing salt into an open wound.
Time and time again, we are faced with power outages that seem to go on for days with no concern on the part of CMP for people who have to endure cold days and nights without any heat or water.
I can still vividly recall the April 19 storm of 2007 when we were without power for days and were told by CMP customer service reps that there were other areas of the state that had more people affected by the outage than we were on our road in Newcastle. The same was true for the ice storm of 1998 when we were without power for fourteen days.
While we are a small number of people compared to other areas in the state, to hear the lack of concern did nothing to reassure us that we were even in the queue. As an aside, I have to say that as a result of the treatment we have all endured in the past from CMP, every house on our road now has a generator.
No more cold nights and no more days without water and buying gallons of water at the Hannaford so we would be able to use bathroom facilities. We also no longer have to dispose of hundreds of dollars worth of spoiled food due to lack of refrigeration.
Given the hardships everyone who was without power this past storm endured, I would like to suggest that CMP credit our electric bills for the number of days when flipping a switch produced nothing.
I suspect it would only amount to a very small amount of money per household, but it would serve to demonstrate that CMP is actually customer focused and really concerned about the welfare of its customers.
Barbara Contardo, Newcastle
