Five-hour power outage leaves 1,500 people without electricity

MOSES LAKE — There was a power outage that affected around 1,500 people in the peninsula area of Moses Lake on Monday. The outage started at around 7:45 a.m. and power was restored at 12:35 p.m. according to Chistine Pratt, public information officer for the Grant County Public Utility District.  

The power was originally estimated to return at 10:30 a.m., however the repairs took longer than initially anticipated.  

“We'll always have people on the way to take care of it and just try to be patient,” Pratt said. “You know if people are interested in getting an update about what the status is of an outage, if it's taking longer than they're expecting, they could always call our customer service number and get an update, but the most important thing is just to stay safe and wait for the lights to come back on.” 

The outage was caused by a bird flying into the PUD Peninsula Substation on Peninsula Drive. Pratt said a five-hour outage is quite long and usually Grant PUD will only take a matter of minutes to return power to users unless there was damage and parts needed to be replaced. Pratt could not speak on the repairs completed to return power to customers. 

Pratt advised PUD customers to unplug or power off items that draw a lot of power when outages occur. 

“What we recommend is that you disconnect your major appliances, because it makes it easier for when power is restored for it to stay on,” Pratt said. “If everybody's drawing a lot of electricity, when the lights come on, it can overpower the system and cause another outage.” 

There were several traffic lights out downtown on West Broadway Avenue as a result of the outage. Drivers are to treat down stoplights as a four-way stop. According to Moses Lake Police Department Captain, Jeff Sursely, there were no known traffic collisions caused by the power outage. 

Businesses downtown, including the Columbia Basin Herald and the Grant County Health District were without power during this time. GCHD was closed temporarily due to the power outage but reopened at 11:39 a.m. when its power was restored, according to a press release from GCHD.  

The outage also caused people to lose internet across the county from Grant County PowerNet. The internet went down because GCPN lost power in their downtown Moses Lake office, according to a release from GCPN. PowerNet asks customers not to touch their routers when an outage happens and to call them at 509-766-1345 if there are still issues with reconnection.  

Grant PUD has a toll-free number: 800-216-5226 for outages that it recommends customers call if an outage occurs. It also has a text message service that allows customers to be notified of power outages in their area. Customers can sign up for this on the Grant PUD website under the outages tab. Customers may also reach out to publicarrairs@gcpud.com with questions. 

Pratt said the main thing with any outage is to focus on safety.  

“I think the most important thing to do is just stay safe,” Pratt said. “Don’t do anything that would put yourself at risk. If you see power lines on the ground, stay away from them. In this case, there weren't any.” 

    There was a five-hour power outage on the peninsula of Moses Lake on Tuesday, causing several stoplights to become four-way stops. Two people were on West Broadway repairing a stop light after the power returned.