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800 customers affected

Fallen power line causes power outage in north Red Deer

Jan 9, 2020 | 10:11 AM

A fallen power line has been identified as the cause of a large power outage in north Red Deer Thursday morning.

Jim Jorgensen, manager at the City of Red Deer’s Electric, Light and Power department, says it’s unclear at this point what caused the line to come down.

“At about 7:30 this morning, we started receiving calls about a power outage in parts of Highland Green, Normandeau, and a little bit of Glendale,” says Jorgensen. “We dispatched crews and they located a section of a line that was down in the vicinity of 59 Avenue and 67 Street. In total, we were looking at probably about 700-800 customers.”

Jorgensen says some traffic signals in the area were also impacted.

“Just want to remind everybody to follow the rules of the road when approaching an uncontrolled intersection and be safe out there,” he explains. “It’s a little early to determine exact cause. It could very well be related to the cold temperature, with splices and connections and changes in heating and cooling – something may have let go, it’s just one line, one section that came down, nothing got hit.”

Jorgensen adds, it’s important to remember to never go near a fallen power line.

“Anything on the ground may or may not be energized, you don’t know,” he exclaims. “You need to stay back 10-20 metres and keep a safe distance. Also, given the temperature, do not use outdoor equipment such as camp stoves, lanterns and barbeques inside your house as a heating source, as they can create problems beyond just the duration that the power is out.”

Service was restored to all affected customers by just after 10 a.m.