SANBORN – The lights went out Wednesday morning for approximately 8,000 Penelec customers from Westover to Houtzdale as a result of the loss of the transmission line that provides electricity to the area.
According to Penelec Area Manager John Shimko, a logging crew was removing trees in the Sanbourn area around 8:32 a.m. when a tree contacted the nearby 115,000-volt transmission line. The electrical fault caused the circuit breakers at both the Shawville and Garman substations to open. Penelec dispatchers were able to identify the fault location using diagnostic equipment, isolate the problem area and then restored service by radio control. 4,100 customers were restored in about 4 minutes, another 2,200 were restored in 8 minutes and the final group of 600 customers was restored within 12 minutes.
Penelec crews were dispatched to the area and removed the tree. The transmission line was returned to service around 1:45 p.m. without further customer interruptions. Some additional repairs to the line will be scheduled in the near future.
Power outages can be reported by calling Penelec at 1-888-544-4877.