Power line fire in Center City Philadelphia causes outage
2026Published 30 Sept 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
Get the next one by email
Free alerts on grid infrastructure incidents in the United States, and an email when EIR-1650 is updated. No account needed; unsubscribe in one click.
Confirm your email and every substation and transformer incident on the register arrives at once as a spreadsheet (CSV), free.
Get a free sample brief Three complete verified records and the incidents-per-GW table, by email within a minute.
We will also email you about the register's paid records and plans, at most once a week and three times in all. You can stop these at any time. By signing up you agree to the privacy policy.
Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): PECO
What happened
On Wednesday night, a power line caught fire at 12th and Lombard streets in Center City, Philadelphia. Crews were working to put out a fire on the power lines and a transformer. PECO said around 1,259 customers were affected. Power appeared to have been restored in Center City by midnight. How the fire started was not reported.
Contributing factors
The cause of the fire was not reported.
Lessons learned
- A fire on an urban power line can interrupt supply to more than a thousand customers within hours.
- While the cause is unknown, crews should treat the line and the nearby transformer as separate points to check before supply is confirmed restored.
- Early notices should separate customer numbers and restoration status from cause, which may still be unknown.
More lessons on outages, backup supply and restoration, from every incident on the register.
Source
Other entries that name Philadelphia
Published 2026-09-30. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
