As Adams County enters its fourth day of power outages amid extreme heat, utility crews continue work at two major substations that failed earlier this week, leaving thousands without electricity. While progress has been made in some areas, restoration timelines remain uncertain for others.
In Littlestown, power has been out since Sunday evening following an issue at the Germantown substation. Met-Ed reports that most customers served by this substation have already had their service restored, and the remaining 700 customers are expected to have power back sometime today.
A second mobile substation is being installed to complete the restoration. “We appreciate our customers’ patience during this difficult time and want them to know that restoring their power is our top priority,” said a Met-Ed spokesperson.
Elsewhere in the county, residents served by the Gardners substation continue to wait. A fire that damaged the substation earlier this week reignited briefly around noon on Tuesday in combustible materials near the equipment. While the flare-up caused no further damage, it delayed repairs as crews returned to assessment work.
Met-Ed confirmed that full restoration for Northern Adams customers is still expected to take several more days due to the complexity of the repairs. Additional updates will be provided as progress is made.
Adams Electric Cooperative reported that while all co-op members currently have power, the strain on the system from bypassing Met-Ed’s damaged infrastructure is significant. Members are urged to conserve electricity, particularly during peak afternoon hours, to avoid additional outages. “An extended power outage is possible if the energy loads get too high,” the co-op said.
Cooling support continues
As temperatures hover near triple digits, local organizations and businesses have stepped in to provide cooling support for residents without power. A partial list of cooling stations can be found here:
Residents are encouraged to check on neighbors and share information about new cooling options as the outage continues.
Charles (Chuck) Stangor is Gettysburg Connection's Owner, Publisher, and Editor in Chief. I would like to hear from you. Please contact me at cstangor@gettysburgconnection.org.
“Heatwave sparks four days of Adams power outages”
Is not the title misleading? The outages started before the heat wave started. Maybe the reporter should first ask the utility companies why the equipment failed.