Nearly 3,000 homes and businesses in Bartholomew County were suddenly left without power Wednesday afternoon after a problem with a substation.
Shortly before 2 p.m., Duke Energy sent out a text regarding a power outage that impacted 1,958 homes and businesses. In addition, 1,030 co-op members of Bartholomew County REMC were also without electricity.
Communities impacted by the power outage include Hope, Flat Rock, Old St. Louis, Rugby and Hartsville, according to outage maps on the Duke Energy website.
The problem was quickly linked to a substation located along County Road 600N, just west of Hope, that serves both utilities. REMC spokeswoman Marty Lasure said she was told the malfunction might have been in a transmission line that feeds into the substation.
At 3:32 p.m., Duke spokesman Chip Orben said the problem had been pinpointed, and crews were working to make the necessary repairs. However, the estimate time to make repairs was moved back from 4:30 to 5 p.m.
Lasure emphasized that Wednesday’s outage was not the result of an overload on the electrical grid caused by the high temperatures.
