The repairs took about 12 hours to complete due to an underground cable fault and transformer problems
WEST SPRINGFIELD – A power outage caused by problems with a transformer and an underground cable left the Riverdale Shops without electricity for most of Saturday.
Repairs were completed and power was fully restored early Saturday night, said Sandra Ahearn, Western Massachusetts Electric Company spokeswoman.
The outage began early Saturday morning. Work crews learned of the problems and started evaluating the outage and making repairs around 7 a.m., Ahearn said.
A fault in an underground cable was complicated by a failed transformer, leading to prolonged repair and outage, she said.
Crews were able to restore power to four businesses, Raymour & Flanigan, Olive Garden, KFC and Kohl’s, by about 1:15 p.m. by resetting an electrical transformer.
The outages were not caused by the weather but the off-and-on heavy rains have made it more difficult for work crews, she said.
The weather did not slow down the work but oil spilled from the failed transformer, which took time to be cleaned up properly, Ahearn said.
Some of the businesses in the plaza remained open but others closed because of the outage. Police did not report any problems with traffic lights.
An employee at Stop and Shop said managers decided to remain but refrigerated goods such as meat and milk were not being sold because they had to be moved to back coolers which are operated by generators.