U.S.

One Guy Caused the Massive San Diego Blackout

Utility says a worker messed up, but can't explain why so many were affected

Adam Martin

This article is from the archive of our partner .

The blackout that left millions of people in the dark overnight in San Diego, Orange County, and other parts of Southern California and Mexico, was apparently caused by one employee of the Arizona power company APS. The LA Times has the report from the power company:

"The outage appears to be related to a procedure an APS employee was carrying out in the North Gila substation, which is located northeast of Yuma," an APS press release said. "Operating and protection protocols typically would have isolated the resulting outage to the Yuma area. The reason that did not occur in this case will be the focal point of the investigation into the event, which already is underway."

The lights came back on Friday morning, but it's not clear how bright this guy's employment future is. The New York Times reported on Friday that 1.4 million people lost power, which is better than the five million initially reported by the Associated Press, but still doesn't spell a pleasant night for anyone in the sweltering southland. Not least that utility employee.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.

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