HICKMAN COUNTY, KY — Gibson Electric says the Tennessee Valley Authority has planned a power outage for Wednesday night that will affect customers served by the Clinton, Kentucky, substation.
A TVA crew will be making repairs after someone damaged that substation Thursday night, causing a lengthy power outage that affected people in and around Clinton, Fulton, Berkley, Oakton, Arlington, Fulgham and near the U.S. 51 corridor from Fulton to Arlington.
The Hickman County Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday that the outage was caused by someone who shot holes in equipment at the substation. The sheriff's office said it is assisting TVA police in an investigation into the incident.
While the sheriff's office said they believe the damage was caused intentionally, both it and Gibson Electric are characterizing the incident as an act of vandalism.
A Gibson Electric spokeswoman says the planned TVA outage is expected to begin around 11 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 13. About 2,760 Gibson Electric customers impacted by last week's outage will be affected by the planned outage, which is expected to last about four hours.
The spokeswoman says TVA personnel made temporary repairs after last week's outage, but additional repairs have to be made to avoid equipment failure and the potential of a much larger outage. "While we would prefer for the outage to be scheduled in milder temperatures, the repairs cannot wait," she says in an email to Local 6.
The Hickman County Sheriff's Office says anyone with information about the vandalism incident can call TVA Police at 855-476-2489 or the sheriff's office at 270-653-2241.
