Sudden power outage rattles Providence
By: News Staff
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A sudden power outage in Providence left thousands of people scrambling for answers.
A little after 8 p.m. Thursday evening, power went down suddenly, leaving ABC6 and the surrounding areas in the dark. The source of the outage was in front of Hemenway’s on South Main Street in Providence. A National Grid representative tells us a transformer blew, causing a manhole cover to explode. It’s one of the main power sources in the area so more than 6,500 customers were without power at its peak.
The power outage also impacted the Providence Place Mall. Shoppers were stunned to suddenly be in a black out.
"We were just there at the food court eating and all of a sudden the power went out. The lights went black. It was pretty crazy at first. Everyone was in a panic running around as you can imagine," said Stephane Meunier who was inside the mall at the time of the outage.
"The lights just popped out. Customers got scared they got nervous they were asking me what was going on," said mall employee Rachael Power.
"All of a sudden I heard a bang outside. It was very quiet because we were inside the building and the lights flickered and I said something to the waiter about it. And he came back and he said by the way that noise you heard was a manhole cover it flew 60 feet in the air," said Marc Maynard, who was dining at Hemenway’s.
Several fire crews responded to the mall, rescuing four people who were stuck inside elevators. Miriam Hospital was also in the affected area but a back-up generator kicked in.
Authorities say that power has been restored to all affected areas. A National Grid crew will remain on scene on South Main Street throughout the night to ensure that the source of the outage is repaired.
© WLNE-TV 2016
