Los Angeles undergoing large power outage

September 12, 2005

A power outage in a large portion of Los Angeles, California occurred at approximately 13:00 PST (20:00 UTC) on Monday. Reports from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power indicate that the incident was caused by a worker who accidentally cut a line. The outage caused a chain reaction that took out power to a large part of the city.

According to local television stations, power is being returned to some of the city, including the UCLA Medical Center. Police are on "full tactical alert", meaning that they will only respond to serious calls and all officers must remain on duty. Most officers are directing traffic.

Los Angeles International Airport briefly was affected but generators engaged shortly thereafter. No flights were delayed or cancelled.

According to the Department of Water and Power, the shutdown happened because of a mechanical problem at two receiving stations. The system automatically triggered a shutdown when a line was cut. DWP spokesman Ron Deaton said that if there is an increase in the power stations automatically shut down. "You cut the wrong wire and it triggers the system to shut down. We have finished repairing the transmission systems. Some units are not up yet, but we have other generating parts of the system.  All that remains is the distribution of the power to the individual customers."

The DWP is currently restoring power by redirecting it from other areas.

The DWP, LAPD, the DOD and Department of Homeland security immediately assured the public that the power outage has nothing to do with terrorism or sabotage, and that the identity of the worker(s) who cut the power lines will not be released.