Transformer Fire Blamed For Mass Power Outage In Newtown

NEWTOWN, PA — A transformer fire on Jefferson Street plunged much of Newtown Borough and parts of Newtown Township into darkness around 5 p.m. on Thursday.

According to PECO, the outage impacted more than 2,400 customers in Newtown Township and Newtown Borough knocking out air conditioning systems during the hottest part of the day.

It also impacted numerous intersections with darkened traffic signals reported along the heavily traveled Newtown Bypass just as rush hour was getting underway.

One motorist on social media described it as "chaos" at the intersections.

Another wrote, "I was waiting to turn right onto the bypass from Buck Road when the traffic lights went dark as I was looking at them. Freaky. I thought it was just the right-turn lights. Coming back, I saw all the lights at Buck Road and the Bypass were out. Police are directing traffic. Going to be a traffic nightmare there for a while."

PECO estimated restoration at 6:50 p.m. Thursday although some were reportedly still waiting around 11:30 p.m.

Social media ignited with comments after the lights went out. Some reported their lights went out but came back on almost immediately while others reported prolonged outages.

One person summed it up like this.

"Just walked in the door from work looking forward to putting on AC, having a beer, and watching TV. Can't do any of that now. I'm afraid to open the fridge on such a hot day. Hope this gets sorted out soon. My animals are not loving this situation."