After conducting an investigation this morning, we’ve identified the cause of yesterday’s power outage. A squirrel climbed onto the North Loop SF-6 breaker and jumped between A phase and B phase, resulting in an A-B fault ahead of our protective devices. Since this occurred upstream of our equipment, AEP’s protection detected the fault and activated, disconnecting our equipment as designed to safeguard the system.
Due to the North Loop carrying the majority of the city’s load following the issue on March 15, the impact was more widespread.
As of this morning, we’ve restored the system to its normal configuration. This means the load is now distributed across three different feeds. By doing so, if another event occurs in the future, fewer customers will be affected.
Thank you for your understanding,
Levi Cecil
Electric Department Superintendent