Half of P.E.I. lost power due to substation cable damage

About half of Prince Edward Island lost power Thursdaynight for around an hour and a half.

Power went out for about 22,000 customers from 10:45 p.m. to 12:10 a.m.from the West Royalty area all the way through to East Point, says Kim Griffin, Maritime Electric spokesperson.

"We didn't understand the extent of the damage immediately. Probably took us 15 to 20 minutes to realize the impact," she said.

Griffin said the problem originated in the West Royalty substation. Between 20 and 30 crew were out overnight working to restore power.

She said the cable runs underground then comes above ground and hooks into the top of a transformer.

"When people heard the bang that's what it was." Griffin said there were several reports of a loud bang in the Sherwood Road area on social media and that helpedcrews isolate the problem faster.

"I just wanted to thank people that were able to comment on social media because it allows us to be able to understand what's happening sometimes faster," Griffin said.

Griffin said power was restored in pockets in 15-minute intervals and crews are still working on the issue Friday and could continue working on it into the weekend.

"It's fairly common for us to be able to isolate a problem, restore power to people and keep working on it," she said.

However if there are more power outages related to the issue, Maritime Electric will notify customers, she said.

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