Downtown residents and businesses were grabbing their flashlights on Tuesday morning after a power outage started at roughly 10:15 a.m.
The areas affected were Downtown Drumheller, Rosedale, East Coulee, Delia, Wayne, and the penitentiary. Outages in other areas were likely independent from the one experienced in Drumheller according to ATCO District Manager for the area, Allan Geno.
Within minutes of the outage, ATCO personnel were inspecting lines in an effort to pinpoint where the problem occurred.
“We got our staff out and they were able to source that problem to some structure failures near the penitentiary,” said Geno. Two poles, for unknown causes, were damaged and fell over.
Many businesses were left without much to do, as everything they relied on was out of commission. Shoppers Drug Mart was forced to shut down it’s operations entirely. The Sports Room took the opportunity to do some reorganizing within the store.
The Aquaplex was left dimly lit thanks to emergency lighting and the large windows. When swimmers came in for their daily lunch time swim, the darkness did little to discourage them and they dove right in.
The power was restored by the end of lunch thanks to the quick response of ATCO technicians.
“When the source was found we were able to get customers back on,” said Geno. “The crews are out there now replacing those structures. We will do a thorough investigation to figure out the cause.”
ATCO wishes to remind residents to call their hotline, 1-800-668-5506, when residents see damage or safety concerns.
“Whenever the public can help us, we’re grateful,” said Geno. “We always thank our customers and appreciate their patience during these temporary disruptions."
