Blumenthal To Conduct Hearing In City Hall Regarding Metro-North Power Outage

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal will chair a field hearing in Bridgeport on Monday to examine the causes of the recent Metro-North power outage, how to prevent such failures from reoccurring, and the economic impact of the major service disruption. The hearing will take place 10 a.m. in City Council Chambers of Bridgeport City Hall, 45 Lyon Terrace.

Among those scheduled to testify at the hearing of the Commerce, Science and Transportation subcommittee, according to a news release issued by Blumenthal, include ConEdison President Craig Ivey, MTA Metro-North Railroad President Howard Permut, John Hartwell of the Connecticut Rail Commuter Council, Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman, and Otto Lynch from the American Society of Civil Engineers and Joseph McGee of the Business Council of Fairfield County. U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, Congressman Jim Himes and Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty will also testify.

Calling the disruption unacceptable and inexcusable, Blumenthal has demanded that New York-based utility ConEdison be held accountable for the lack of adequate contingency plans for the power failure. He has joined U.S. Senator Charles Schumer in calling on the federal Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability and the New York Public Service Commission to conduct an investigation into the cable failure. Blumenthal has also advocated for increased investment in rail and transportation infrastructure.

“Significant investment in our rail infrastructure is vital to stopping more severe service disruptions–repeated breakdowns becoming the new normal, discouraging reliance on rail, pushing more cars onto our crowded highways, and limiting job growth as companies elect to locate elsewhere. This is simply unacceptable,” Blumenthal said. “This hearing is an important first step in determining the cause of this latest failure, and in considering future measures and investments in our rail system. ConEd and others must be held accountable–including compensating commuters for the hardships they have endured, but we must also hold Congress accountable for making the public investments necessary for the long term viability and reliability of our transportation system. Such investments have been woefully inadequate for far too long.”