Lights out downtown at lunch time

Tuesday, June 29, 2010
© Copyright 2013 Albany Herald

Albany firefighters respond to the Dougherty County Central Library on the 300 block of Pine Avenue Tuesday afternoon.

Downtown Albany was in the midst of a power outage that started at noon and lasted 45 minutes.

The Dougherty County Library, the Law Enforcement Center, the Dougherty County School System building, the Government Center, the judicial building and The Albany Herald were among the downtown entities that were without power.

According to the Albany Police Department, traffic lights at Washington Street and Oglethorpe Boulevard, Jackson Street and Oglethorpe Boulevard and Broad Avenue and Washington Street were not functioning during the power outage and uniformed officers were directing traffic.

The Dougherty County Library placed a non-emergency 911 phone call to the Albany Fire Department for assistance with a few library patrons who were stuck on the third floor of the building and were unable to make it down the stairs without help.

Water Gas & Light Commission General Manager Lemuel Edwards says the utility company is working to determine what exactly caused the outage.

"We are tied up here on the phones and most of the operations are in the field now trying to restore the power as quickly as possible," Edwards said just before the power was restored.

Edwards said the cause of the outage was determined to stem from a burned down primary at the utility company's substation 10.

"We have had problems with tripped breakers and we are looking into whether the limbs from the storm yesterday may have caused the problem," he said.

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