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Blown switch causes big power outage

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By the Lincoln Journal Star

Wednesday, May 09, 2007 - 05:16:07 pm CDT



A switch blew up at a substation and caused a massive electrical outage Wednesday morning, just as people were driving to work and opening businesses.

An estimated 13,800 Lincoln Electric System customers were affected by the outage from 8:20 to 8:34 a.m., said utility spokesman Russ Reno.

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Map of Wednesday's power outage

Source: Lincoln Electric System (Mark Andersen / JournalStar.com)...

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The power outage knocked out four substations at 30th and A, 29th and Leighton, 8th and N and 17th and Holdrege, he said.

People living and working in an area from 6th to 48th streets and Van Dorn to Adams streets were affected by the outage, along with the north downtown area.

Police redirected traffic at 33rd and Vine streets after the intersection’s traffic lights went out. Several other intersections were without power, Officer Katherine Finnell said, but drivers were able to sort things out for themselves.

Several burglar alarms were tripped off throughout the city, but no major problems were reported by police.

The power outage affected some buildings on the perimeters of UNL's City and East campuses, Reno said.

The outage occurred when the utility’s dispatch center switched off some power lines so crews could work on a 115-kilovolt line, he said.

“When they did that the switch  failed,” Reno said.  The switch was at the 29th Street and Leighton Avenue substation.

After the power went out, dispatchers rerouted circuits around the problem areas and had all power restored by 8:34 a.m., Reno said.


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M wrote on May 9, 2007 8:52 am:
" Downtown starting having problems at 8:30. Some building came right back up, but others are still down. "

 SK wrote on May 9, 2007 9:14 am:
" Power outages are lame. "

 Jason wrote on May 9, 2007 9:23 am:
" My power is back on. I was hoping for a day off and some golf. Darn you LES! "

 good job LES wrote on May 9, 2007 9:31 am:
" I live in Woods Park. Thank you LES for taking care of this so fast. "

 Cal Naughton Jr. wrote on May 9, 2007 9:35 am:
" Some businesses have generators, not really an issue. Perhaps that why it seems as though some came on faster than others. "

 DE wrote on May 9, 2007 9:53 am:
" I live near 27th and Highway 2, we didn't lose power, but our lights dimmed for a moment or two, then went back to normal brightness. I wonder how power supplies in PCs got fried today? "

 NS wrote on May 9, 2007 9:54 am:
" I noticed a power surge here in southeastern Lincoln around 8:30 as well. Major one too, very noticeable. "

 Kimberly wrote on May 9, 2007 10:07 am:
" We had a power outage for about 5 minutes in our Auditorium of Southwest High School. We were having an induction ceremony. The rest of the school wasn't quite as effected. "

 MY wrote on May 9, 2007 10:13 am:
" Shortly after 8am, the UPS connected to my PC detected a power surge and shut down my PC. I am in the Highlands, curious if this is related. "

 Pat wrote on May 9, 2007 10:43 am:
" I work by the Capitol and heard a large "boom" around 9:00. Sad that in today's world, the first thing I did was run to the window and look at the Capitol. I am thankful that it was "just" electrical-related. Hopefully LES can get things back up and running in no time! "

 Dust wrote on May 9, 2007 10:57 am:
" Made for an interesting drive down capitol parkway/k st. Luckily people weren't going crazy and the traffic seemed to keep flowing pretty well. "

 sa wrote on May 9, 2007 11:43 am:
" Wow this is amazing good luck with the power "

 Shannon wrote on May 9, 2007 12:33 pm:
" I am on 27th and South. I have to say good job to LES, my power was only out for 10-15 mins. Thanks for getting it back on so soon! "

 UNL Lights Out wrote on May 9, 2007 1:20 pm:
" I work in Walter Scott Engineering Center and I know that both our building and Nebraska Hall lost power. Unfortunately, we got power back withing 10 minutes or so, so we had to go back to work. "

 Lincoln Citizen wrote on May 9, 2007 1:59 pm:
" Thanks for the quick response LES!! I'm glad power was restored quickly. But, does this mean they will jack up my next months bill to recoup the cost of the blown switch???? "

 Downtowner wrote on May 9, 2007 2:35 pm:
" We were without power until closer to 10am. I work in one of the larger buildings down town & every floor was out of power for that time also. "

 Shawn wrote on May 9, 2007 2:44 pm:
" Our power just flashed down at 14th and Van dorn. Now if only our IT people were as efficient as LES. Our computer system has been useless most of the day. "

 ECON wrote on May 9, 2007 3:11 pm:
" There goes our rates for LES again!!!! CROOKS, I bet they do stuff like this to jack them up! "

 Carrie wrote on May 9, 2007 4:01 pm:
" These things are budgeted for by the company, so your rates don't go up. Besides you are fortunate to have some of the lowest rates in the country and some of the best service. And no, I don't work there. "

 Lights back on wrote on May 9, 2007 9:57 pm:
" Somehow I doubt that LES has an agenda to "create" problems like this. Power was out in our office building (12/Lincoln Mall) for about 20 minutes. All was well after that. "

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