Construction company cuts power to Hatteras and Ocracoke, fix could take 2 weeks.
At the height of the tourist season, power to Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands has been severed by PCL Construction, the contractor for the new Bonner Bridge. Early this morning they accidentally sliced through the cable carrying electricity to everyone from Rodanthe to Ocracoke. Some temporary power is being supplied to the lower villages on Hatteras, but the tri-villages up north are still without. If materials are on hand for repairs, Cape Hatteras Electric hopes to have power again within days, but that could stretch to weeks if orders have to be placed. Ocracoke’s generator has broken down with temporary generators arriving on the island by Friday night. Rob Morris of the Outer Banks Voice reports the story.
“Power on Hatteras Island could be disrupted for days and possibly weeks after the company building the new Bonner Bridge drove a steel casing into an underground transmission cable.
PCL Construction told the Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative that the cut occurred on the Pea Island side of the old span. The power went out at 4:30 a.m. Thursday.
The cable was severed between the south end of the bridge and the point where it emerges from underground and onto overhead poles, according to a CHEC statement.”
[box type=”bio”] Read the rest of this story on the Outer Banks Voice.[/box]
[box type=”info”] For updates on the outage, follow Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative on Facebook and tune in to Radio Hatteras (99.9/101.5FM).[/box]