Transformer Failure Causes Downtown Power Outage

CHATHAM --- Customers at several downtown shops received a novel greeting last Thursday. As they stepped through the door, they were handed flashlights.

“They came in, we handed them a flashlight, and they laughed. They loved it,” said Barbara Henderson of the Ben Franklin store.

Much of the eastern side of Chatham, including most of the downtown business district, was without electricity from mid-morning until about 7 p.m. Thursday, due to an equipment failure at the Crowell Road substation.

Failed equipment in a transformer at the substation was not expected to be repaired until sometime this week, according to NSTAR spokesman Mike Durand. The delay was caused because replacement equipment had to be located, he said. While the transformer was still usable, a mobile transformer was brought in from Yarmouth to take over some of the power load from the damaged equipment. It was still on site as of Tuesday.

Durand said precautions were being taken so that when the substation transformer is switched back on again, there will be no interruption in service.

"It will be unseen by customers," he said. "Everyone will have power while we do that work."

Dozens of NSTAR crews, including some from off-Cape, worked Thursday and Friday replacing and repairing equipment in the downtown area.

About 1,300 customers lost power at approximately 10:28 a.m. Thursday. About an hour later, power was shut down to the rest of the town for about 20 minutes in order to take the faulty equipment off-line.

While systems usually have enough redundancy built in to allow power to be rerouted in the case of equipment failure, that was not possible in this case because of the location of the damaged equipment in relation to the system, Durand said.

On Thursday, crews working downtown said they were trying to reroute power from Cross Street and other spots which had electricity to feed Main Street customers.

Many downtown businesses closed early Thursday. The few with generators, including the Chatham Squire and the Candy Manor, managed to stay open through the day. The town offices, which get electricity from lines on Cross Street, did not lose power, but the Eldredge Public Library across the street was dark for the day.

“We stuck it out as long as we could,” said Georgiana Adams, manager of the Mayflower Shop. Like at the Ben Franklin store, Mayflower employees handed out flashlights so customers could find their way through the dark store. Some people hesitated when they saw how dark it was inside the store.

“A lot of people felt uncomfortable with that,” she said. Although sales were down for the day, “business wasn’t too bad,” Adams reported. “We actually had fun, but it was exhausting.”

With no power to run computerized cash registers, sales were made the old-fashioned way, writing every transaction on paper and counting out change by hand.

“We made the best of it,” said Henderson.

With the CVS next door closed all day, business at the Ben Franklin store wasn’t much worse than last year at this time. But that was when the section of Main Street in front of the shop was closed for road and water work.

“We’re definitely lucky it wasn’t today,” Henderson said Friday, when business was brisk as folks began arriving in town for the Easter weekend.

Or worse, it could have happened in the summer.

“I’m sure glad it wasn’t August,” said Adams.

3/27/08