CLEARFIELD – Although winter has descended upon the area with a vengeance over the past several weeks, weather-related power outages have been uncommon. According to Penelec Area Manager John Shimko, the local power grid has held up very well with only a few scattered outages.
However, over the past several days, a number of isolated problems have occurred that have disrupted electric service to area residents.
On Friday evening, 154 customers in Brookville were without power for 90 minutes when a line fuse melted out around 6:30 p.m. Penelec crews patrolled the line and then restored power at 8 p.m.
On Saturday morning, a failed electrical insulator on a pole located along River Road in Clearfield was the cause of a power outage that affected approximately 100 customers in the Wolf Run area of Clearfield. The insulator failed just before 10 a.m. Saturday. The high voltage wire burned loose causing sparks and arcing to occur. This interrupted service to about 53 customers and caused lights to blink off momentarily for approximately 2,200 customers in the Clearfield area.
Crews were dispatched to the scene and isolated the problem. All but eight customers were restored at 11:50 a.m. Final repairs were made and the remaining eight customers were restored at 1:38 p.m. Saturday. Traffic signals were affected on state Route 879 and also on U.S. Route 322 at the Clearfield Bypass.
Late Saturday evening, a car-pole accident in Wallaceton at 11:30 p.m. left 130 customers out of power overnight. Verizon crews replaced a broken pole and power was restored to all customers at 9:20 a.m. Sunday.
Just before 9 p.m. Sunday, eight customers on Bucket Line Road near Sanborn lost power due to a bad electrical fused cut-out. Penelec crews restored service there just after 10 p.m.
With the threat of bad weather at this time of year, residents are encouraged to take some extra precautions in case you experience a power outage. Some cold weather tips include keeping extra drinking water on hand, having flashlights with fresh batteries handy and making sure cell phones are fully charged.
Penelec thanks customers for their patience during restoration efforts and reminds you to stay away from all downed wires and immediately report them to 888-544-4877 (888-LIGHTSS).
