A storm this weekend briefly knocked out power to Sitka on Sunday – twice (01-15-17).
The first one took place at 3 p.m. and impacted South Japonski Island, including the airport, sewage treatment plant, the Coast Guard air station and the surrounding islands. Power was restored at 5 p.m.
Utility Director Bryan Bertacchi says the fix is temporary and more repairs will be made today, causing short outages.
The second outage took place around 10 p.m., impacting Old Thompson and Eliason Harbors. Repairs were made and power restored shortly after midnight.
Bertacchi said both outages were caused by old equipment which “failed during the stress of the storm event.” Much of Sitka’s electrical infrastructure was installed in the 1980s, and the city is focusing on replacing key elements to prevent long, unplanned outages in the future. Bertacchi thanks customers for their patience.
Sitka’s weather on Sunday saw rain and high winds, with gusts to 50 MPH.
