Explosion knocks out power to entire town of St. Paul; electricity restored

St. Paul, Neb. (KSNB) — An explosion at a sub station near St. Paul caused a power outage that impacted the entire town early Thursday morning.

According to The Howard Greely Rural Public Power District, a breaker at the sub station near Highway 281 and Paul St. exploded.

The call was sent to the Howard County dispatch at 5:36 a.m.

Power was restored to the entire town by 7:30 a.m.

St. Paul Volunteer Fire Department and EMS responded to the incident. Mutual aid was requested, but canceled.

St. Paul Fire Chief Mike Becker said the flames extinguished themselves and that he does not expect foul play.

The exact cause of the fire is unknown.

St. Paul Public Schools canceled class Thursday due to their buildings not having power at the time of the incident.

The Howard County Medical Center is only running emergency services until further notice.

“We don’t want to be a burden on the grid as they reestablish services,” said CEO Arlan Johnson.

He said power was fully restored to the center at 8 a.m.

The Howard Greeley Rural Public Power District is investigating the incident.

This is a developing story.

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