DOWNED PRIMARY POWER LINES IN RED HOOK AND DAMAGED ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT IN NADIR CONTRIBUTED TO SUNDAY NIGHT SERVICE INTERRUPTION ON ST. THOMAS

An electrical service interruption which affected customers on the east end of St. Thomas Sunday evening resulted from downed primary electrical lines in Red Hook and damage to electrical equipment in Nadir.

Interim Executive Director Noel Hodge explained Monday that the outage, which occurred at 6:30 p.m., initially affected all customers on Feeder 9C while Line Department crews identified the location and cause of the service interruption. “Once crews determined the cause to be downed lines in Red Hook, the area from Nadir to Red Hook was isolated and all other customers restored while the lines were restrung.”

The downed lines also caused an electrical fault on the grid which damaged a distribution system switchgear in Nadir and prolonged the outage. “Although the lines were repaired in Red Hook, additional crews were brought in to assist with the reconfiguration of Feeder 7C to facilitate restoration of service to the affected customers,” Hodge said.

In essence, he explained, Feeder 7C was extended from its normal end point in Smith Bay to the Nadir area to provide full restoration of service. Once repairs to the switchgear are completed, both feeders will be returned to their normal configuration.

Hodge apologized to the customers who were inconvenienced by the Sunday night outage.

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