Power Back On in South Florida

Blackout hit 4 million people
By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 27, 2008 5:15 AM CST
Power Back On in South Florida
Downtown Miami is seen Tuesday evening, Feb. 26, 2008. Florida's largest utility says equipment failure and a fire at a Miami substation led to power outages that affected up to 3 million people. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)   (Associated Press)

Floridians saw the light again last evening when power was restored after equipment failure at a single Miami substation caused a blackout which dominoed across South Florida, leaving millions without power for several hours. Most homes were back on the grid before nightfall, but why a single substation's failure could have such a devastating impact remains a mystery, reports the Miami Herald.

Both reactors at the Turkey Point nuclear power station shut down as a safety measure, triggering incorrect reports that the outtage triggered the blackout. "This failure is in no way a safety issue,"  said a spokeswoman for Florida Power & Light. "The system performed as it should have. Our system is designed to protect the system." (More South Florida stories.)

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