Repair workers cause core blackout

Another blackout hit downtown London yesterday — but this one was short.

About 30,000 people were in the dark for four minutes during the afternoon power outage, which ran through the downtown and affected St. Joseph’s hospital, Richmond Row and Galleria London.

Nancy Hutton, spokesperson for London Hydro, said Hydro One workers were repairing a transformer when they accidentally knocked out the power. The system was quickly brought back.

Hydro One brings the power feed into London, Hutton explained, while London Hydro then distributes it throughout the city.

In addition to yesterday’s short blip, there have been four large downtown blackouts during the last year — most notably one sparked by the sinkhole that shut down the intersection of Dundas and Wellington streets on Oct. 31.