This map shows the Indiana Michigan Power network for downtown South Bend. (Photo provided by Indiana Michigan Power)
SOUTH BEND — An improbable set of factors led to an underground fire that left all of downtown South Bend without power for several days in May, dealing local businesses a $3 million blow, utility officials said Wednesday.
Indiana Michigan Power CEO Paul Chodak III said a company investigation found a decades-old, low-voltage cable overheated at one of the few spots where a majority of the downtown electrical grid's largest cables feed into a transformer.
"It's very unusual to have this kind of failure," Chodak said, adding that the company has never seen a similar problem with its system.
The May 15 failure left many downtown businesses and residents without electricity for more than three days. The outage forced many businesses to close during the busy University of Notre Dame commencement weekend, while others resorted to gas-powered generators to stay open.
Downtown South Bend Inc. estimated the outage had an economic impact of at least $3 million.
I&M distributes power in downtown South Bend using five primary high-voltage feeds. Only three of the five cables are required to maintain power at any given time, but the underground fire started at a spot where three of the cables fed into a transformer.
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