SoNo Blackout Ends with Electricity Restored on Washington Street [Update]

Update, 3:34 p.m.:

Electricity has been restored to the western end of Washington Streeet in South Norwalk, which was without power since about 8:30 a.m. today when a "tie switch" between two circuits essentially shorted out.

"We have temporarily bypassed the switch," said John Hiscock, general manager of South Norwalk Electric & Water. "Everybody is back on."

A SNEW team worked beneath a manhole in front of 50 Washington St. to find and fix the broken component of the utility's old power grid.

"We'll probably end up replacing the switch sometime by the end of next week," Hiscock said. "Clearly it's not going to be a daytime job," he said. That's because electricity must be turned off while the repair takes place, and the utility doesn't want to interrupt business any more than the blackout today already disrupted it.

Hisraker had said earlier in the day (see below) that the utility is working on replacing components of its underground distribution network.

South Norwalk Electric & Water has 5,000 residential and 1,600 business customers. It's territory extends roughly from Norwalk Harbor west to Woodlawn and Francis streets, including the area south of Interstate 95 down to Bouton Street and Woodward Avenue.

Update, 2:35 p.m.:

A South Norwalk Electric & Water crew remained at work at a manhole in front of 50 Washington St. this afternoon, with several businesses and the South Norwalk Library closed nearby. The U.S. Post Office was open at 2:20 p.m.

John Hiscock, general manager of the utility, could not be reached for comment immediately at 2:30 p.m.

Update, 1:20 p.m.:

The blackout that began at 8:30 a.m. in South Norwalk is still not over for some customers on Washington Street as South Norwalk Electric & Water crews continue to look for the cause. Generators are now in use at 50 Washington St. and the former Southern New England Telephone company building at 5 Washington St.

The blackout still extends along Washington Street between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. and North Main St. A building at 20 N. Main St., which is served by cables under the Webster Street Parking Lot, is also without power.

John Hiscock, general manager of the utility, said crews have been narrowing down the set of underground cables and switches where the component failure occurred. He said the utility may know more by 2 or 2:30 p.m.

Original story:

An electricity outage in South Norwalk starting at about 8:30 a.m. is still ongoing for business customers, mostly along Washington Street between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. and North Main St. Service for most other customers affected by the loss of power has been restored.

"We're still going from manhole to manhole" looking for the cause of the power disruption, said South Norwalk Electric & Water General Manager John Hiscock at 11:50 a.m. It was too difficult to say when power might be restored, he said, "until we find out the actual cause of the failure or what component failed."

The small, public utility's system components in the area are largely underground, which helps prevent outages due to bad weather, Hiscock said, but makes it more difficult to discover failed components. SNEW is in the process of replacing many old switches and cables in that neighborhood, he said."It's a very old system."

Over the next year or two, the utility plans to replace about 20 more switches.

The power failure affected most of the SoNo business district, although power had been restored to most customers by 10 a.m. Traffic lights on North Main Street were still out of service as of 11 a.m., and at some points Norwalk police directed traffic at some intersections and posted stop signs at others.

Hiscock said he might know more about when power could be restored at 1 p.m. or 1:30 p.m.