The Halloween rains caused multiple power problems across the Clearfield County area on Thursday night.
Penelec Area Manager John Shimko reported today that a total of 7,000 area Penelec customers were impacted by the storm. The areas with the largest number of people impacted, he said, were in Clearfield, Curwensville, Madera, Coalport and Beccaria.
The main cause of the outages was rain-related equipment damage on several of the larger circuits in the region, he said. Shimko said Penelec crews identified problems on the Shawville to Clearfield circuit north of the Interstate 80 Clearfield exit and also on the main DuBois to Curwensville feed below Luthersburg.
Radio controlled switching on the lines caused momentary interruptions in other areas, including in Philipsburg. Repairs were completed and power was restored to those areas around 10:30 p.m. Thursday, according to Shimko.
Just before 2 a.m. Friday, power was interrupted on the main line between Madera, Coalport and Beccaria, affecting around 3,000 customers. Crews sectionalized the line to restore 1,700 customers, but approximately 1,300 remain out in the Blandburg, Glasgow and Beccaria areas as of 8 a.m. Friday. Crews are patrolling a remote section of the line and expect to restore power later today, said Shimko.
Also an additional outage in the Arcadia area of Indiana County, which was affecting 20 customers, was restored around 7:45 a.m. Friday when crews removed a tree from the line.
Penelec thanks customers for their patience and understanding while we work to restore power. Also, they are asked to please stay away from all downed wires, as they may be energized and dangerous. Outages can be reported by calling 1-888-LIGHTSS (1-888-544-4877).
