Contractors are hard to come by amid the mounting demand for work to repair damage from the set of January storms that battered the coast of Maine. Now, as lobstering season begins, many on the working waterfront are patching their own wharves, hoping they can hold out until the real work can be done.

As more outages occur because of bad weather, a federal grant may help the grid better contain disruptions.

The National Weather Service said winds gusted up to 50 mph on Friday, but that sunnier, drier weather is on the way over the weekend and into next week.

A two-day nor'easter that brought strong winds and heavy snow Wednesday and Thursday knocked out power for almost 400,000 CMP and Versant customers.

Columbia University public health researchers found that the typical Maine customer went without power for longer than average between 2018 and 2020.

Kennebunk and Pownal were among the hardest-hit areas in the state. Many who live in those towns were still without power more than a day after the storm.