[Update: 4:42 p.m.] Wednesday Updates - Diamond Hill, Part of East Main, and Broad Brook Water Treatment Plant Gain Power

Update: 4:42 p.m.

Three areas of note have just come back online, according to City Manager Lawrence Kendzior:

• The Broad Brook Water Treatment Plant and Finch Ave. Pump Station, relieving the generator that was leaking oil. This was top on the city's priority list Wednesday.
• The Diamond Hill neighborhood in South Meriden
• East Main Street from Carpenter Ave. to I-91

Update: 11:07 a.m.

• The city's CL&P representative has just told officials that there are 14 line crews working in Meriden right now, up from 3 yesterday – nearly quintupling efforts. Outage numbers have increased during the morning from 77 to 80 percent. City Manager Lawrence Kendzior said that this is usually a sign that repair work is being done. 

Original Story - 9:38 a.m.

The City of Meriden is still 78 percent without power Wednesday morning. Officials met for a 9 a.m. meeting at the city's Emergency Operations Center at Meriden's Police Station to share reports on the state of the city. Here are a few highlights:

• The Gov. has decided he’s not changing the date of Tuesday's election, according to Lawrence Kendzior.
• ‎"I’m really hopeful that starting today things will start to get better in terms of outages," City Manager Lawrence Kendzior.
• Shelter update: 68 people stayed at Lincoln Middle School, 60 at Edison Middle School, 25 at the Senior Center last night. 
• Meriden Fire: Two house fires – one on Sherman Ave. and one on Britannia Ave. can be blamed on candles. Fire Chief James Trainor strongly urges residents "use flashlights instead of candles."
• Old Colony Rd. at Hall Ave. is still closed. The small stretch of road had 3 poles snap in the initial storm, and a truck took out a fourth Tuesday.
• City Manager Lawrence Kendzior: CL&P rep says the city could get more than the 12 crews it was promised Wednesday.
• District Superintendent Mark Benigni explained his rationale for canceling school for the rest of the week, versus canceling day-by-day. "I have people (without power) staying in town (for school), when they could go and stay with a relative," Benigni said, explaining that without estimates from CL&P, he "could not in good conscience stop them from going."