Hundreds of Connecticut power outages reported Wednesday afternoon

Connecticut’s storm recovery was still unfinished Wednesday afternoon, when Eversource reported 1,096 outages statewide, up from 827 earlier in the morning.

The latest count came at about 3:55 p.m. Wednesday, with the largest clusters in Southington, Torrington, Hartford and Salisbury. United Illuminating reported just one outage at about 3:56 p.m.

Recovery drags on

The outages trace back to severe thunderstorms over the Fourth of July weekend, which initially knocked out power to about 100,000 customers statewide. Restoration had already brought the statewide total down sharply by Tuesday, and Eversource had said the remaining storm-related outages were expected to be restored by 11:45 p.m. Tuesday.

But additional storms on Monday complicated the recovery, and Wednesday’s afternoon increase showed that work was still not complete.

Local impacts

In Salisbury, the Academy Building was closed after fallen tree limbs took out utility wires, a concrete sign that some storm damage was still affecting daily operations days after the holiday weekend.

State and utility officials are also tracking the broader recovery effort, including cleanup costs and possible federal disaster aid eligibility. Gov. Ned Lamont has urged towns to document storm expenses as Connecticut assesses whether the damage meets FEMA thresholds.

The next key question is whether Eversource can clear the remaining outages overnight or whether the delays will push restoration into Thursday.