Major Detroit power line fails

It happens nearly one year after the city's worst outage

By Darren A. Nichols / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- One of the city's three major power lines failed Tuesday -- a day before the first anniversary of the city's worst power outage. City officials may have to issue an energy watch at 8 a.m. today if Detroit Edison and Detroit Public Lighting crews haven't completed work on the failed cable connection.

Crews were to work through the night to fix the power line, which blew out about 2:40 p.m. at the Mistersky Power plant. The failed cable connection did not cause the city to go into emergency procedures to reduce power, mayoral spokesman Greg Bowens said. A blown cable on June 13, 2000, caused Detroit to lose electrical power to 4,500 buildings, including city offices, police and fire stations, most traffic lights, 250 Detroit school buildings and much of Wayne State University. "The Public Lighting Department has taken every step not to create a return scenario," Bowens said. "Tie lines fail. What happened last time is all three failed. One doesn't concern us as much as having two ... down."

After last year's outage, the lighting department began installing two new tie lines, costing about $2.3 million, to safeguard the power it buys from Detroit Edison

The first of the two lines is finished, but it needs more testing, Bowens said. The other should be finished by month's end.

You can reach Darren A. Nichols at (313) 222-2396 or dnichols@detnews.com.

http://www.detnews.com/2001/metro/0106/13/e01-235712.htm

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), June 13, 2001

Answers

Power Goes, People Mover Stops

Outage Strands Commuters On Trains DETROIT, Updated 4:27 p.m. EDT June 14, 2000-- The power failure that left many parts of Detroit without power on Tuesday also left several people trapped in rail cars above downtown streets.

When power was lost shortly before 1 p.m., the People Mover stopped running. The automated rail system circles the central business district downtown on an elevated rail, and includes two sets of trains.

Power had not been restored Wednesday afternoon.

Firefighters and People Mover staff helped passengers to safety by escorting them from emergency exits of the cars, across rail tracks and back to the station platform.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/det/news/stories/news-20000614- 185534.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), June 14, 2001.