••• Power has now been restored in most locations.
NEW GLASGOW, N.S. - A breaker failure at a power substation in Trenton caused widespread power outages Jan. 31.
Update on outage affecting approximately 31,000 customers in the Trenton, Pictou, Musquodoboit & Sheet Harbour areas: This afternoon a large piece of protective equipment (breaker) failed at the Trenton Plant substation causing both generating units to go offline. #BellLetsTalk
— Nova Scotia Power (@nspowerinc) January 31, 2018
A spokeswoman for the utility said nobody was injured in the 3:50 p.m. incident, which sent out a plume of smoke and resulted in first responders rushing to the Trenton plant.
“That would be a standard emergency response,” Tiffany Chase said.
“Crews were immediately dispatched and are now on scene to assess all equipment and initiate any repairs required to safely restart the generators at Trenton.
“We are actively identifying options to reroute as many affected customers as possible to alternative power sources as quickly as we can.”
The affected area included much of Pictou County, as well as the Musquodoboit Valley and Sheet Harbour.
According to NSP’s online outage map, power was expected to be restored Wednesday night.
Due to safety concerns, a reporter with The News was denied access to the site, which is located several hundred metres off Trenton’s Main Street. The generating station is adjacent to the old TrentonWorks buildings, and sits next to the East River. What appeared to be Nova Scotia repair trucks could be seen at the site along with at least one fire truck.
About four kilometres down Main Street from the plant, at Big Al's Convenience store in New Glasgow, business was booming. One of the only places with power, the convenience store had a steady stream of customers buying food and other necessities.
The store owns a propane generator and "it runs the lotto machines, the debit machine, the cash and the lights... it's a big generator," said Brae Stewart, who was working behind the counter.
Just prior to the power going out, the store was already busy with customers heading home from work. When the power died more customers kept streaming in.
"It's pretty much like Christmas Eve," she said, describing the busy traffic.
With files from Kevin Adshade and Sam MacDonald, The News
Check for updates on the NSP outage map.
The company estimates power will be reconnected between 6 and 8 p.m. Jan. 31
