Several power and cable customers in downtown Marianna were left in the dark Monday afternoon, when a cable crew damaged a power pole that held a transformer and other equipment, according to Florida Public Utilities General Manager Buddy Shelley.
He said the cable crew was pulling cable when the mishap occurred.
The pole was standing at a 45-degree angle as of 2:30 p.m., and utility crews were working to replace it.
About 30 businesses were affected, with most brought back on line within an hour as system adjustments were made.
However, six customers – Suntrust Bank, GPI Southeast, the law offices of John Simpson and Frank Baker, CC BHP Inc., and Ormond Insurance – were expected to be out of power through the end of the business day Monday. Shelley said time would be needed to pull, reroute and otherwise adjust the lines and support systems.
Shelley said the seven customers listed would be out about eight hours longer than others, because they were receiving their power directly off the transformer attached to the broken pole. He said two transformers and a three-phase power bank were initially affected, and that the transformer on the broken pole may have to be replaced. He said that equipment is sensitive enough that it may have been damaged by movement when the pole broke.
“Comcast was upgrading the network (when it happened), and we apologize for any inconvenience this has caused,” said Comcast representative Stefanie Bowden.
She said the upgrade was necessary to bring customers enhanced services, which Comcast will be rolling out soon.
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