Gov. Dannel P. Malloy intends to return to storm-ravaged eastern Connecticut on Sunday.
The details of the governor's itinerary was not released; his office said they expect to provide the exact locations he intends to visit later today or tomorrow.
Malloy, speaking at a 3 p.m. briefing at the state's Emergency Operations Center, said the utility companies are making progress repairing lines and reconnecting power.
By tomorrow morning, an estimated 125,000 Connecticut Light and Power customers will be without power, down from a peak of 672,000. And by Monday, 99 percent of CL&P customers will be back on the grid. Everyone should have electricity back by Wednesday, he added.
One hundred and forty four water systems still have a boil order in effect. Most of them are communal wells serving condo complexes and institutions, he said.
The state has distributed 18 pallets of ice, 13,000 ready-to-eat meals and 27,600 cases of water, the governor said.
Malloy was asked once again during the briefing if he believes there ought to be an investigation into the utility companies' response to the storm. And once again, he declined to answer, saying there will be time in coming days and weeks to look at that. Right now, he said, he is focused on getting all power restored to all residents.
"What I have said is, I am concentrating on what is the issue at hand and that is that we have a large number of our fellow citizens still without power,'' he said. "There is plenty of time to look at all those things...I know that our department of energy and environmental protection is currently looking at performance. This will all play itself out. I'll be happy and turn more attention to post-storm recovery activity...once I know all our citizens are back and have their power."
