Connie Cooke, left, listens as Ken Webb, president and CEO of Cleveland Utilities, reads a plaque inscribed with a proclamation honoring her for 42 years of service to the utility. Cooke has served as secretary to Cleveland Utilities' general managers and presidents since 1978 and the utility board's secretary since 1992.CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- Cleveland Utilities has determined that a mechanical failure caused an extensive power outage that gridlocked traffic and left thousands without electricity across Cleveland on Nov. 26.
In a recent meeting, Bart Borden, vice president of Cleveland Utilities' electric division, gave a detailed analysis of the unexpected interruption that originated at the East Cleveland substation.
"We apologize for the inconvenience this caused our consumers, but it was unavoidable," he said.
The substation is one of the electric division's two substations that receive power from the Tennessee Valley Authority, according to the Cleveland Utilities website.
The incident occurred at 12:38 p.m., shortly after the substation had undergone installation of new power transformer bushings and replacement breakers and relaying equipment, Borden said.
At that time, the system "experienced a fault" that locked out the feeder circuits for the East Cleveland and South Cleveland substations, resulting in loss of power to seven other substations, he said.
The East Cleveland substation's overhead static conductor, which provides shielding against lightning, burned down and contacted energized lines, Borden said.
Although the static conductor was originally thought to be the root cause of the power outage, it was later determined that the substation's line switch had experienced a mechanical failure that resulted in an arc that burned down the static conductor, Borden said.
The power loss affected 17,467 customers initially, but the electric division was able to restore power to 14,200 of those customers by 1:10 p.m., Borden said. The remaining customers' power was restored by 1:36 p.m.
The electric division is temporarily bypassing the failed line switch and has ordered a new replacement, Borden said.
No electric division personnel suffered any injuries throughout the incident, a fact that Borden said is due to the responding crews performing as they were trained.
"We are very, very thankful no one was hurt," said Ken Webb, president and CEO of Cleveland Utilities. "The amount of work they did in the amount of time they did it in is very commendable."
In other business, the utility board bid farewell and honored Connie Cooke, who has served as secretary to Cleveland Utilities' general managers and presidents since 1978.
Cooke, who began work at the utility as a part-time clerk and typist in 1972, will be retiring after 42 years. She also has been the utility board secretary since 1992.
She has "faithfully served Cleveland Utilities with dedication and distinction," said Webb, reading a plaque awarded to Cooke during the meeting.
"It's been a joy," Cooke said. "I feel very, very blessed to have worked at Cleveland Utilities."
Paul Leach is based in Cleveland. Email him at paul.leach.press@gmail.com.