An Indiana Michigan Power Company employee pulls new wire in a manhole about 5:30 p.m. Friday at Lafayette Boulevard and Washington Street in South Bend in the ongoing effort to restore power to downtown South Bend after Friday night's electrical fire under ground that has left 800 customers without power. SBT Photo/GREG SWIERCZ
SOUTH BEND -- If everything goes perfectly, crews could flip the switch and turn the power on in downtown South Bend by early Sunday morning, ending a two-day power outage sparked by a late Thursday night manhole fire.
Still, noon Sunday is a more realistic deadline, according to Indiana Michigan Power vice president Tom Kratt. He said that all customers affected by the outage should shut off as many appliances, light switches and other electronics as possible before the grid is turned back on, for ease of transition.
Crews replaced 4,000 feet of underground copper cable destroyed by the fire overnight. Once the cable was switched out, they began the task of reassembling 24 splices, where cables meet.
As Saturday dawned, crews began splicing together cables -- more than and inch-and-a-half thick and bundled in threes -- with three splices finished by 8 a.m., according to Kratt. Thirteen splices were completed by 1:30 p.m., with the hope to be done with the splicing by 8 p.m.
Copyright © 2025, South Bend Tribune