Electrical Service Restored on South Side of Narberth's Haverford Avenue

A malfunctioning underground transformer on Haverford Avenue in Narberth caused partial outages to up to 100 customers between about 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Tuesday, a PECO spokesman said.

Though the utility had workers inspecting the grate in front of in the early afternoon, PECO spokesman Ben Armstrong said, the underground repairs had to wait for a properly equipped crew to become available, he said.

The problems were only known to affect businesses on the south side of Haverford Avenue, though Armstrong said officially up to 100 customers had lost some power, however imperceptibly.

The lights were working at McShea's, but not the air conditioning or, perhaps more importantly, the cooking equipment. Behind the bar, Genevieve Mazzone said she had seen smoke come out of the grate at mid-morning. The transformer has been a problem before, she said.

"We've been smelling it burning all week," Mazzone said. "They keep fixing it just enough to make it work."

Next door at Merion Opticians, owner Jim McTighe had lost some of his lights and had no air conditioning. Nor would his radio work.

"This happens too often," McTighe said, though he added, "I'm sure it's going to hurt (McShea's) more than it hurts me."