Hays Post

Two significant power outages Thursday led to a busy day for Midwest Energy crews.

According to Midwest spokesman Mike Morley, the first outage, which occurred just after 2:30 a.m., was the result of a line burning down. The line took out power to about 8,000 customers in eastern Hays, Victoria and eastern Ellis County. The power was restored before the work day began for most customers, Midwest said.

At about 3 p.m. Thursday, a lightning arrester failed at a substation, causing about 2,000 customers to be without power in Hays and the surrounding area. The hour-long outage caused street lights on Vine to go dark for a short period of time.

“Midwest Energy apologizes for the inconveniences caused by both service interruptions,” said Patrick Parke, Midwest Energy vice president of customer service.

The status of outages can be monitored HERE.