A news release from Penelec said yesterday morning’s power outage in the Bellwood/Tipton area was caused by a turkey buzzard flying into a 46,000-volt electric line near Tipton.
The incident interrupted electric service for approximately 2,800 customers in northern Blair County.
John Shimko, Penelec area manager, said the bird contacted the line shortly before 6 a.m. causing an electrical fault that brought down two spans of wire about a 1/4 mile south of the Tipton substation toward Bellwood.
Penelec crews performed switching to isolate the problem area and restored service to all but about 100 customers at 6:42 p.m.
Repairs were made to the line and all remaining customers were back in service at 8:42 a.m.
Penelec said customers can report downed wires or a power outage by calling 1-888-544-4877.
Penelec also urged people to stay away from downed wires.
