A heavy equipment accident caused a power outage Saturday morning (May 17) at 2,663 homes and businesses in Crystal City and Festus, Ameren Missouri officials reported.
The power outage occurred at 6:43 a.m., Ameren Missouri spokesman Kent Martin said.
Power was restored quickly to all but the homes and businesses closest to the source of the power outage, he added
“Within 40 minutes 1,584 customers had their power back,” Martin said. “Most of the other 1,079 customers regained their power in 90 minutes.”
In the Delmar Avenue and Ninth Street area, near where the accident occurred, however, the outage lasted until 3 p.m. or later in the day, he said.
A spokesman for the American Home & Mattress store at 1259 N. Truman Blvd. in the Jefferson Center shopping center said his business remained without power most of the work day. He said he believes the rest of the shopping center tenants also were without electricity during the same amount of time.
“I got here at 9 a.m. and the store was dark and it didn’t come back on until around 5 p.m.,” store manager Rick Reyering said. “We’re next store to Big Lots and they were out, too.”
Reyering said business at his darkened store dwindled to virtually nothing as the day progressed.
“We had the doors open and put some merchandise out on the walk in front of our store,” he said. “We usually get walk-up customers. We got some business in the morning; then it stopped.”
Martin said the power outage started after a crane struck a pole with electrical wires attached to it.
“It (the accident) was caused by a crane operator with a local Festus company,” he said. “It apparently happened when the crane knocked over a pole and three spans of wire came down.”
Martin said Ameren Missouri workers were able to restore power to the majority of customers by rerouting the system, but those closest to the accident had to wait hours before their power returned.
“We had to replace the pole,” he said.
There were no injuries, Martin said.