Late Afternoon Power Outage Affects Businesses, Residents Near Wicker Park’s Six Corners
By chicago-pipeline at June 28, 2012 | 3:56 pm | Print
According to ComEd Spokeswoman Martha Swaney, about 80 customers on and around the 1500 block of North Milwaukee Avenue are without power, having experienced an electrical outage that began around 4PM today, June 28, 2012. Update: Power was restored at 6:25PM.
“Crews are en route, so we don’t yet have a cause, nor a time for restoration of power,” Swaney told The Pipeline around 4:30PM today.
For those who live and work in the area, the outage is nothing new.
Last summer, power went out in the same area, affecting the same folks, on the first day of Wicker Park Fest, causing local businesses to collectively lose tens of thousands of profits on the neighborhood’s busiest day of the year.
We reported on reactions to the outages, of which the cause was speculated to be an underground transformer burning out as a result of too much usage.
When asked about the underground equipment, and if it’s scheduled to be upgraded or replaced, Swaney replied that the company has been doing a lot of repairs on the power grid, and that she’d be in touch with more information to share when it arises.
We’ll keep readers posted. We, too, had to vacate our “pop up newsroom” on the 1500 block of N. Milwaukee, thus today’s newsletter will be sent out a bit later than usual.
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Bill, 10 months ago
comed is the greediest corporation on the planet.
there will be many more outages on the 1500 block as there were last year and comed wont spend a dime to upgrade the grid.. yet expect the small businesses to pay more while they are losing every day..
wish there was a way we could get rid of comed. it is a monopoly of the ugliest kind..
chicago-pipeline, 10 months ago
bill… agreed. And this is not just any street. The 1300-1500 block of Milwaukee (south side of street- the faulty or aged transformer that goes out seems to only affect the south side) contains so many businesses as you said. To lose power on Wicker Park Fest, busiest day in the neighborhood all year long, totally sucks. ComEd really needs to man up and give some straight answers to its customers. The issue has been identified. Why not work to repair it or make steps to do so, or if steps are being made, let people know about them?
KJB, 10 months ago
Third day this week “brown-outs” on the south side of Division from Hoyne to Damen; Small Bar/50-50 etc., are either closed or no food etc.,
traffic lights still not working as of 1 hour ago at Division & Damen intersection