KAMC Investigates: City Still Feeling Fallout From Summer Blackout
By: Nick Ochsner
Updated: October 29, 2012
An after action report compiled by the City of Lubbock in the wake of this summer's massive power outage is giving new details about how the city responded.
The LP&L power grid was interrupted after a piece of equipment malfunctioned at a substation off Guava Road.
Nearly 150,000 LP&L customers lost power in the early morning of July 21st, 2012 when a faulty lightning arrestor blew up, sending a surge of electricity through the LP&L grid and causing massive outages.
The loss of power at a City of Lubbock water pumping station caused a drop in pressure in the City's water system, which prompted a city-wide boil water notice.
That notice meant households and restaurants alike were unable to use tap water for more than a day.
According to the report, the power outage and boil water notice prompted more than 1,000 phone calls to the City's non-emergency call center. The report says 911 operators were also flooded with calls after the LP&L system was overwhelmed.
The report also spells out the huge wave of employees called into work in the middle of the night to help manage the outage.
More than three dozen employees were called in to work in departments including Police, Fire, Wastewater, Water, LP&L and others.
The City's Streets department says they had to repair 90 percent of their stoplights after the outage.
KAMC Investigates has also learned that dozens of people and businesses have filed claims with the City seekend to get money to compensate for damaged appliances or lost business, they say, was caused by the outage.
We've requested a copy of those claims t find out just how much the outage could cost tax payers but, so far, City officials have not provided the information.
The LP&L power grid was interrupted after a piece of equipment malfunctioned at a substation off Guava Road.
Nearly 150,000 LP&L customers lost power in the early morning of July 21st, 2012 when a faulty lightning arrestor blew up, sending a surge of electricity through the LP&L grid and causing massive outages.
The loss of power at a City of Lubbock water pumping station caused a drop in pressure in the City's water system, which prompted a city-wide boil water notice.
That notice meant households and restaurants alike were unable to use tap water for more than a day.
According to the report, the power outage and boil water notice prompted more than 1,000 phone calls to the City's non-emergency call center. The report says 911 operators were also flooded with calls after the LP&L system was overwhelmed.
The report also spells out the huge wave of employees called into work in the middle of the night to help manage the outage.
More than three dozen employees were called in to work in departments including Police, Fire, Wastewater, Water, LP&L and others.
The City's Streets department says they had to repair 90 percent of their stoplights after the outage.
KAMC Investigates has also learned that dozens of people and businesses have filed claims with the City seekend to get money to compensate for damaged appliances or lost business, they say, was caused by the outage.
We've requested a copy of those claims t find out just how much the outage could cost tax payers but, so far, City officials have not provided the information.
