Hamden Deserves More From United Illuminating

Mayor Scott Jackson has been incredibly proactive in making sure out-of-power Hamden residents have all the resources they need to retain some comfortability in the aftermath of Winter Storm Alfred. He should be commended for that, and indeed even more so seeing as United Illuminating has not seemed to be a forthcoming partner in recovery.

Hamden deserves and should expect a greater deal of transparency from United Illuminating when it comes to power restoration. As late as this afternoon, over 2,000 of our residents were being told that the lights would be back on by the end of the day. Now, "most" can expect their power to be turned on by the end of tomorrow night.

It's not just about making sure the TV can be on for Monday Night Football. It's about families planning their days -- making sure they know how the kids are going to shower and get ready for school, how they're going to set their alarms for work or how they're going to cook breakfast, lunch and dinner. I think everyone in our town understands that, with a storm this severe, cleanup will take some time. We all see the UI crews out on our streets, working feverishly to repair downed lines. What we want, though, are honest assessments of the situation, not platitudes meant to keep people off customer service lines.

My hope is that, after everyone has their power restored and things return to normal, we can have a frank discussion about how the town and UI can work closely together to improve the flow of information to the public. Since my guess is that this won't be the only severe winter event we have over the next four months, now is as good a time as any to do so.

Scott Harris, Jr. is the Democratic candidate for 9th District Legislative Council.