By Billy Davis

TVEPA customers in eastern Panola County experienced a pair of power outages Tuesday while an outside repair crew worked on a substation, said a spokesman for Tallahatchie Valley Electric Power Association.

The repair crew was testing a new piece of equipment and “technical problems” caused the outages, communications manager Marlin Williams said in a press release requested by The Panolian.

Williams said TVEPA has been busy with other disruptions this week. A transformer failure in the W.H. Harmon Industrial Park in Batesville may have interrupted service to businesses and industries there, he said.

Repair crews on the scene said a previous lightning strike on the pole and transformer likely caused the outage, he said.
 
TVEPA was also thrown into work Sunday night when severe weather downed trees and snapped power lines.

“Three poles were broken on the main feeder line serving east Panola County,” Williams said. Three electrical lines and electrical equipment were damaged at Stan’s Country Store, he added.

The Panolian reported Tuesday that the late-night storm ripped the front porch roof from the front of the store.

A photo taken by the repair crews showed a piece of the metal roof dangling approximately 25 feet off the ground in a nearby pine tree.

“Our personnel worked around the clock to resolve the issue,” Williams said.