Power outage darkens area
Power outage darkens area
Electrical line break sparks four-county blackout; 24,000 UPPCO customers affected
By KAYLA GAHAGAN, DMG Writer
HOUGHTON — In the second major transmission line power outage in a month, about 24,000 Upper Peninsula Power Co. customers were left without power late Wednesday after a rain and wind storm blew through the Upper Peninsula.
L’Anse, Baraga, Ontonagon areas and the entire Keweenaw Peninsula did without electricity after fallen trees cut off transmission lines, said UPPCO Communication Manager Janet Wolfe.
She said smaller outages or storm-related distribution outages, in which downed power lines affect a small area of customers in a specific area, happen sporadically and depend on weather.
“Most of our outages are caused by high winds and lightning and because power lines are above ground, they’re susceptible to weather,” she said.
But the two transmission line outages, the last one three weeks ago when a piece of heavy equipment struck a line and Wednesday’s, are rarer.
“That is not usual,” Wolfe said. “These transmission outages are not as common.”
She added that much like the smaller outages, transmission lines are also often at the mercy of the weather. Such as Wednesday’s outage, in which storm-damaged trees hit UPPCO’s two transmission lines.
The National Weather Service reported thunderstorms and wind damage with trees down in L’Anse at about 4:43 p.m. Similar reports came from Pelkie, Baraga County, including reported trees and powerlines down at about 4:36 p.m. Mass City, Ontonagon, also experienced thunderstorms and wind damage at about 4:11 p.m.
“With the help of a helicopter, our crews located trees on the two transmission lines that bring our power into the western UP,” she said in a press release, adding later that “there was a good-sized tree on each one.
“Once the trees were safely removed and the lines inspected, we were able to restore service to most of our customers by 11 p.m.
Some customers however, didn’t have to wait as long. A combustion turbine in South Range was used to bring service to some in the Keweenaw. Also, some Ontonagon customers had service sooner because of generation from White Pine Power.
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