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Middletown – Residents of Middletown were left the dark early Thursday morning. Delmarva Power conducted what was supposed to be a four hour test that shutoff power to the entire city.
Just after 5:30 this morning DelDOT traffic cameras showed that the city’s lights were back on. So it’s unclear what time the power was actually restored at this point, but several fire alarms were triggered were between 3:45 am and 4:30 am.
The Volunteer Hose Company of Middletown responded to at least six calls for service during the outage, one medical emergency and five fire alarm calls. Crews responded to alarms in the Parkway At South Ridge subdivision on two occasions, Redding Middle School, The Legends subdivision and the Middletown Village Apartments. It’s likely that these alarms were set off by the test.
The test was a federally mandated test, according to city officials. Middletown currently has the one 138 KV relay connection which is why the test cut the power to the entire town.
Plans are in the works to add a second 138 KV transmission line so this should be the last time a planned blackout is required.
Residents of Middletown were alerted to the test by and robo call and a message on the city’s website:
Hello, this is the Town of Middletown calling with a very important message.
We are calling to inform you about an upcoming electric outage that will affect the entire Town of Middletown.
Delmarva Power is required for Federal Compliance, to test its 138 KV relays that connect to the Town of Middletown’s electric substation, therefore, power will be disconnected to the Town on Thursday morning, March 15, between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.
Please make plans accordingly to undergo this potential four-hour outage.
Let us know about your experience during the outage.