Maine Residents With No Power Recharge at Restaurant

Three days after a strong wind storm hit New England, there are still more than 200 thousand power outages across Maine. 

"This is really tough," said Cape Elizbabeth resident Tasha Novak, caring for two young children without electricity or running water. She is going to restaurants three times a day for meals. 

"They’ve been making me warm bottles, letting me charge my phone and helping with the kids," she said. 

Novak went to Becky’s Diner in Portland Wednesday morning with her three year old June and five-month-old Austin. 

"We’ve been staying out of the house because it’s too cold for the kids," she said. "I think we’re going to check in to a hotel."

Central Maine Power has made significant progress restoring power this week, but there are still hundreds of thousands of outages to go. The power company hopes to have everyone on line by this Saturday. 

"It’s been a little rough with no electricity" said Janene Kurta, a mother from Cumberland. She also took her two young children to Becky’s Diner. 

"We needed a hot meal for the first time in days," she said, adding that the most difficult part has been losing running water at home. “There’s no bath time [for the kids], so that’s hard.” 

Staff at Becky’s said they have been extremely busy since this storm took out power to 70 percent of Central Maine Power customers across the state Monday morning. Around 5 a.m., line workers from CMP get their breakfast. Then regular customers keep them busy throughout the day. 

"Starting at 7 a.m., we have a line out the door, right through until the 2 o’clock hour," said manager Zack Rand. "It’s been really good for business, these last couple days." 

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