18,000 lose power in Fairport and Perinton. What we know now
18,000 lose power in Fairport and Perinton. What we know now
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A large power outage in Fairport and Perinton temporarily interrupted power for roughly 18,000 Fairport Electric customers on a frigid December Friday morning.
Here’s more on what we know about the outage:
What sparked the widespread power outage?
Fairport’s Village Manager Bryan White said that a transmission failure from the line that supplies power to Fairport Electric caused the outage on Friday, Dec. 5. National Grid operates the transmission line.
How many Fairport Electric customers lost power?
All of them. Fairport Electric services roughly 18,000 customers — around 50,000 people — and all temporarily lost power for more than an hour, starting around 6 a.m., White said.
How long was the power out?
Around hour for most Fairport Electric customers. It lasted longer for some customers though. The line from National Grid was operating again by 7:30 a.m. but it took longer to restore power to everyone who receives power from Fairport Electric.
Why did so many lose power?
“The whole system ceased at once,” he said.
When the line failed, it impacted the entire system, White said.
Everyone with Fairport Electric service lost power at once. Once restored, it overwhelmed that same system, so some rolling blackouts occurred until all services were able to be restored, he said.
Why was school canceled?
The outage occurred after some Fairport Central School District students were already enroute to school and others were still waiting for their buses. Since schools and other district buildings were among those without power, district officials canceled classes and activities for the day.