( CNN ) -- The head of an embattled Connecticut power company defended his utility 's response to a freak fall snowstorm that -- six days after it hit -- continues to leave hundreds of thousands without electricity . As of Friday night , about 283,000 households who get service through Connecticut Light and Power remained in the dark . The utility , which at one point had 831,000 such outages , has promised to return power to 99 % of its customers by Sunday night . `` I believe CL & P has done a very good job , '' Jeffrey Butler , utility president and CEO , said Friday evening . `` This storm is of historic proportions ... Have you ever seen an event like this ? '' Butler made his remarks a day after Connecticut 's attorney general called for regulators to investigate CL & P , the state 's main electric utility , over its handling of the storm . Attorney General George Jepsen filed the request with the state 's Public Utilities Regulatory Authority , which is already investigating CL & P over its response to power outages during Tropical Storm Irene in September . Eight people have died in Connecticut due to the storm , four of them from carbon monoxide poisoning , Gov . Dannel Malloy has said . He told reporters Friday that there have been a total of 322 carbon monoxide cases statewide . While saying he `` sure hopes '' he can trust Connecticut Light and Power , Malloy acknowledged that there were definite problems that must be addressed before the winter storm season begins in earnest . To this end , the governor announced Friday that Witt Associates -- a consulting firm led by former FEMA Director James Lee Witt -- will `` do a review of Connecticut Light and Power and UI ( the United Illuminating Company ) in the wake of their performance . '' The review will be done at no expense to the state and be completed by December 1 , before a different panel probing similar storm-related issues completes its own report . `` ( We are ) bringing in outside expertise to take an immediate look , '' Malloy said . `` I ca n't wait for the two-storm commission to make recommendations because we have winter staring us in the face . '' The governor , specifically , said one area of focus will likely be the amount of tree branches that threaten power lines , adding that residents may have to sacrifice foliage for safety and energy security . `` What we have learned ... is that we are a vulnerable state to different types of weather conditions -- wind and snow are clearly two of those , '' said Malloy . `` And I think we can do better , in the long run , to prepare ourselves . '' Eighty shelters were open around Connecticut on Friday night , in addition to 109 warming centers . The governor said that food and water had been delivered to residents of 82 towns , with more goods set to be delivered upon request . Butler , the Connecticut utility chief , said that the effort to restore power is in full swing . While acknowledging there may be `` opportunities '' for improvement , he blamed the weather conditions -- including as much as 20 inches of heavy wet snow in spots -- as the primary reason for the prolonged outages . `` Everyone I talked to , they 've never seen anything like this , '' said Butler , who came to Connecticut after 27 years at Pacific Gas and Electric Company . `` The destruction of the trees was unbelievable . '' He said that between 5,000 and 6,000 workers were on the job working to cut back trees and restore power , committed to the Sunday night goal . The late October storm killed at least 22 people around the eastern United States . That includes six deaths in Massachusetts , not including a seventh under investigation , said Peter William Judge , public information officer for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency , on Thursday . In New Jersey , eight storm-related fatalities were tallied , including three people who burned to death in house fires , one person who died when a branch fell on him , another who died when a tree fell on him , and three people who died in motor vehicle accidents . A ninth death was under investigation . President Barack Obama has signed emergency declarations for New Hampshire and Connecticut , clearing the way for federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts .
The head of Georgia Light and Power praised his department 's handling of events . About 283,000 customers remained without power that evening . The storm led to at least 22 deaths in the eastern United States .