Power Finally Returned for Thousands of DWP Customers

STUDIO CITY, CA - Electricity was restored today for thousands of Department of Water and Power customers who found themselves in the dark following an equipment failure at a distribution center.

Around 8,700 customers in the Studio City, Sherman Oaks and Valley Village areas lost power when the outage began at 8:43 p.m. Wednesday. As of this morning, 4,900 customers were still without power.

DWP officials announced around 5:45 p.m. that power had been restored to all customers.

The outage occurred at the substation at 4250 Coldwater Canyon Ave., according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Shawn Lenske.

Fire officials initially reported that there had been an explosion, but DWP officials said it was only an equipment failure.

"Crews responded to the scene to investigate a possible equipment explosion as reported by LAFD," DWP spokesman Joseph Ramallo said.

"The scene was initially declared 'No Entry' by LAFD for safety reasons due to the possibility that hot oil and potentially hazardous conditions existed," Ramallo said. "Thereafter, crews were allowed to enter the affected portions of the facility only with full hazardous materials suits to assess the damage, for safety reasons. A "feeder regulator" in the south feeder room of the substation failed, "spraying oil and other material throughout the room and adjacent areas," Ramallo said.

Crews working to restore service had to contend with hazardous conditions, which slowed their progress, Ramallo said.

City News Service; Photo: Shutterstock