Patch's Poll: Will CL&P Be Ready if Hurricane Sandy Hits Connecticut?

We all remember what happened last year in the days before Halloween. This year, Connecticut is facing another potentially damaging storm if Hurricane Sandy tracks toward the East Coast.

On Wednesday, CL&P sent out a press release detailing the improvements the company has made since last October when 800,000 people lost power — some for up to two weeks.

"In addition to strengthening the electric system and improving communication, the company is aggressively trimming and removing trees that threaten electric reliability," the release said. "Falling trees and branches can cause more than 90 percent of outages during severe weather."

CL&P says it has "improved communication with municipalities, state agencies and customers."

The company says it has town liaisons in each municipality it serves and that it has new technology to identify and prioritize power outages.

"Since last year's storm, there is increased awareness that while trees are beautiful, they can also cause significant power interruptions for customers," said Bill Quinlan, CL&P's senior vice president of emergency preparedness. "We are working closely with communities to identify and remove trees that pose a significant hazard."

CL&P line workers aren't necessarily quite as optimistic as the company. They staged a protest last month, claming that the company doesn't have enough line workers to handle major outages.

What do you expect to happen if Connecticut gets pounded by Hurricane Sandy? Take our poll and tell us in the comments.