UPDATE - Locals deal with midday power outage

Update from SMECO at 4:30 p.m.

Waldorf, MD – A problem with a transmission line at Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative’s (SMECO) Westlake Substation resulted in two separate power outages in Waldorf Monday, July 20.

Co-op spokesman Tom Dennison told The BayNet that the first outage occurred at 11:16 a.m. and lasted over 30 minutes while the second incident was reported at 12:18 p.m. and lasted about 16 minutes. Dennison said approximately 5,700 customers were affected.

Co-op officials have been able to determine that the problem was transformer-related but the exact cause has not been pinpointed.

Dennison stated that SMECO officials have not been able to determine if the day’s oppressive heat might have played a role in the two outages. Electricity use in the region has been very high the past two days due to the heat.

Update from Charles County Government:

Please be advised that several areas in Waldorf, including some of our cooling centers, are currently experiencing power outages. SMECO’s outage map is currently showing two outages near Smallwood Drive North in Waldorf, affecting 1,247 customers at this time. We will update information as we receive it.

Update 12:24 p.m.

According to SMECO Storm Center the cause of the power outage is a transmission outage and the outage is affecting nearly 6,000 customers.