Let there be lights

OG&E, embarrassed by two much-publicized power outages in Bricktown, is taking steps to address the issue.

The first outage, on 17 December, lasted 3½ hours, and was traced to corrosion on a pole crossing arm near I-40. All such arms along this corridor have now been replaced.

The second, a two-hour blackout on 2 January, was blamed on a malfunctioning switch.

But the real problem, apparently, is that all of Bricktown is served by a single substation: when it goes, everything goes. The utility is planning to alter its grid to serve half of Bricktown from a substation on Classen west of downtown, and is contemplating the possibility of splitting the district into thirds, bringing in a substation from the Health Center area.

Capacity, said OG&E, is not the issue; it's a lack of backup.

Then again, after the first outage, they said that the issue was the failure of the Corporation Commission to grant the company the full amount of their most recent rate-hike request.

Posted at 7:33 AM to City Scene