Blackout Laid to Wiring Failure
Department of Water and Power officials today blamed a malfunction in a battery-powered wiring system for the massive power blackout that darkened West Los Angeles for 5 1/2 hours Tuesday.
Robert Shepard, DWP’s assistant engineer for operations and maintenance, said the wiring at a power receiving station at 1840 Centinela Ave. went awry for no apparent reason, causing the system’s circuit breakers to open. Thus the station was not able to deliver electricity to 18 smaller power distribution points in the area, he said.
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