A connector that attaches power cables inside an underground vault is being blamed for an incident that knocked out power to businesses around 6th and G Street in the Gaslamp Quarter Wednesday night.
Some 900 SDG&E customers in the area lost power and 100 people were evacuated.
“One of our underground cables failed. Typically this happens with older cable that doesn’t have the kind of protective insulation that we currently have on the newer cable that is underground,” said Stephanie Donovan, a spokeswoman for SDG&E.
Even though the force of the incident caused a manhole cover and surrounding cover to rise above the asphalt, SDG&E stopped short of calling it an explosion.
“The force of electricity inside an enclosed space like an underground vault is magnified by being in an enclosed, compressed space. It’s going to make a sound like an explosion, but it’s not an explosion. It’s not like a bomb or TNT or something like that,” said Donovan.
As of 2 p.m. Thursday, electricity had not been restored to the Residence Inn on 6th Street. The lobby was being powered by a backup generator, but electricity to the rooms had not been restored.
Mike Cunningham, on business here from New Jersey, was eating at the Blind Burro restaurant, when the restaurant was evacuated. He’s also staying at the Residence Inn and said he was told to stay in the hotel.
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“They kept pushing us back in. I kept getting kicked back into the bar instead of getting kicked out, which is not real common for me,” said Cunningham.
SDG&E says 60 percent of it’s system is underground. The PUC requires the company to have a regular maintenance cycle. Donovan says it was an isolated incident.
“I want everyone to understand that there’s nothing to be concerned about when you’re walking down the streets of Downtown San Diego, that there’s an imminent danger underneath your feet. That’s not the case,” said Donovan.
