Broken transformer causes power outage in Riverside

RIVERSIDE - The city of Riverside went dark for half a day due to a malfunctioning transformer. The town experienced a power outage that began at 7:30 a.m. on Sept. 3, and lasted until 3:15 p.m.

Justin Foss, a spokesperson for Alliant Energy, explained that the transformer, the piece of equipment that receives and disperses all the energy from the city's grid, stopped working in the early morning hours. A new transformer was retrieved from Cedar Rapids to replace the broken piece of equipment. Alliant Energy supplies electricity to most of the town. Foss noted that the outage was completely unpreventable.

'These things don't break very often,' Foss explained, 'We're not currently sure what caused [the outage]. It could be a variety of things — it could be from a lightning strike or a storm … or an animal got into a place where it shouldn't have.'

Foss also mentioned that Alliant understood the outage was 'an inconvenience' for the city and residents, but that the company worked as quickly as it could to bring power back. The replacement of the transformer required several cranes to move the equipment as well as a warm-up period before power could come back on.

Riverside City Administrator Christine Yancey explained that Alliant Energy supplies power to most of the town's residents, with the rest of the city's residents, who live closer to Interstate 218, receiving power from their local Rural Electric Cooperative (REC). Most residents of the town were affected. City hall received notice that the transformer was 'smoking' in the morning and their building went dark shortly thereafter. The city was told by Alliant that the power would most likely be out until 3 p.m. Yancey noted that Alliant Energy was working to bring power back to the town and that the outage was not related to any city projects.