Voltage was initially high after the separation but fell rapidly owing to the tripping of capacitors (both transmission and distribution) by overvoltage protection and a load increase over the next 7–10 min. At 4:16 p.m., all fast-start generation was ordered online. Due to flows on transmission lines over long-term emergency ratings and low voltages that prevented generation synchronization, CONVEX (a local transmission operator) ordered 500 MW of manual load shedding (400 MW in Connecticut and 100 MW in western Massachusetts), which was completed by 4:40 p.m. Over the next hour and 10 min, 400 MW of generation was synchronized to the system. The load that had been manually shed was restored between 5:42 p.m. and 7:28 p.m.
Restoration of power to southwestern Connecticut was an ongoing task. Stations were manually staffed in southwestern Connecticut. At 9:50 p.m., Danbury, Norwalk, and Stamford were reconnected. At 11:23 p.m., the Connecticut transmission system was restored except for the ties to New York and the connections to the Middle River substation, which were high-pressure, fluid-filled cables. By 1:35 a.m. on 15 August, all distribution buses at bulk substations were energized