Edmond Officials Explain Power Failure During Recent Earthquakes

<p>Last week's Edmond earthquakes not only damaged homes, but they also knocked out power to thousands of residents. According to a City of Edmond spokesperson, both earthquakes knocked out power to 4,400 Edmond Electric customers, all connected to the substation on Danforth.</p>

Tuesday, January 5th 2016, 12:38 pm



Last week's Edmond earthquakes not only damaged homes, but they also knocked out power to thousands of residents. According to a City of Edmond spokesperson, both earthquakes knocked out power to 4,400 Edmond Electric customers, all connected to the substation on Danforth.

When last week's earthquakes hit John Sharum's Edmond home it rattled crystals off his hallway chandelier, broke a couple wine glasses and knocked out his power.

“My first thought was there was still some ice on the lines, it shook the lines and they broke,” said Sharum.

As it turns out, the earthquake actually shook things up at the nearby substation.

“It appeared that maybe relays touched together due to vibrations and that caused the circuits to shut down,” explained Casey Moore, the Public Information Officer for the City of Edmond. “No damage or anything, basically the system working the way it should.”

Both times power was out for about an hour while crews checked things out.

“Crews will go out, go through certain protocol, check everything that needs to be checked, check for damage and then once they’re comfortable with everything then they’ll go ahead and re-energize,” explained Moore.

Moore says the city is looking into equipment upgrades for a long-term solution as well investigating any potential "quicker fixes" until a more permanent change can be made.

“Is there anything different we can do? Or do we just move forward with what we have? I think all those things are being evaluated.”

Fortunately, Moore says the earthquakes didn't cause any damage to the substation either time.

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