PORTLAND, Maine — Portland public schools are closed due to the sub-zero cold and an ill-timed power surge at the city’s compressed natural gas fueling station.
CNG-powered buses make up half of Portland schools’ 26-vehicle fleet, and a power surge unrelated to the cold on Wednesday at the headquarters of Metro, the area’s public bus network, knocked out the city’s only CNG fueling station. School officials were concerned buses could run out of fuel and leave students stranded in below-zero weather.
Pleasant Hill School in Scarborough is also closed. The district says the building does not have any heat right now.