UPDATE (6:45 p.m – August 14th): AEP posted to their Facebook page that 200 residents are without power on the Southside of the City. They say they are expecting a new transformer later tonight but should the transformer not arrive on time, they will have a mobile substation travelling to Corpus Christi from the Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday morning. Installation and testing of the equipment could take several hours after receiving it.
They also added that as an added contingency on Wednesday, AEP Texas plans to reconnect a distribution line taken out of service due to road construction on Staples Blvd.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CORPUS CHRISTI – Several major city traffic signals are not working and roughly 5,000 customers are without power this afternoon. According to AEP Texas spokesperson, Frank Espinoza, a major error occurred in a transformer located at their Cabaniss substation at around 12:47 p.m.
Several major traffic lights are out. AEP says they are communicating closely with the City. The City’s Streets Department says they have crews placing temporary stop signs at those major intersections without power.
Espinoza says AEP crews are working to replace the transformer but are running into obstacles. He says they are trying to get their Southside customers back up.
“We are trying to shift loads and bring up customers from other parts of our system but it’s been a challenge with temperatures and customers using A/C units,” said Espinoza.
According to their Facebook page, they have started to sectionalize circuits and restore power to groups of customers. Espinoza says there is not an estimated time for power to be back up. He recommends customers to follow theirFacebook page where updates will be posted and he asks for everyone’s patience as they work to get the power back on.
