NPEI Has Been Experiencing Brief Auto-Recloser Outages

Update: NPEI will be beginning an aggressive tree-trimming project on Monday, July 20, 2020 as well as installing a fault-indicator in the area that we have been experiencing issues with momentary outages. This will hopefully help to correct these issues and reduce the number of momentary outages caused by an auto-recloser.

Niagara Peninsula Energy Inc. (NPEI) has been experiencing a number of momentary outages in the last week that have customers wondering what has been going on.

The cause of these momentary outages is often an "auto-recloser." Like a circuit breaker in your house, there are circuit breakers at our transformer stations. Unlike your household however, an auto-recloser occurs when the station breaker detects a fault current and automatically opens and then recloses. The reason for this is that most causes of a power outage are momentary (for example tree branches touching a power line, a lightning strike or contact from an animal). The result is a localized outage that typically lasts less than a minute.

These problems normally come and go in a very short period of time so the reclose, or "auto", though inconvenient, saves the customer from a longer power outage.

If the cause is permanent, such as a tree has falling on a power line, the breaker will trip off once again and stay off until the problem has been corrected and the breaker is reset manually.

NPEI crews have been patrolling areas where these issues have been occuring frequently and attempting to find the cause.

We appreciate your patience as we try to identify these issues, and rest assured we are working to try and limit these interruptions.

We apologize for these inconveniences, and appreciate your patience.