Summerside citywide power outage caused by transmission line failure

An hours-long power outage in the City of Summerside, P.E.I., over the weekend was caused by a transmission line failure.

Power was out in much of the city for 2½ hours Sunday. The city owns and operates its own utility.

"After investigation, it was identified to be a failure in the main transmission line that comes from Maritime Electric," said Coun. Bruce MacDougall.

"It was a faulty insulator on the main line that feeds the city."

MacDougall said in the event of an outage like Sunday's, the city uses generators to rotate power to essential services — like the Prince County Hospital — until power can be fulled restored.

"We're able to power a lot of the city, but there is uneasiness when power goes out, especially for people who depend on power."

MacDougall said the insulator issue was addressed and repaired Sunday.