Just two weeks after a large-scale power outage disrupted life for many Saucon Valley residents for days, another outage is affecting nearly 2,000 Hellertown area households.
The earlier blackout was the result of a severe thunderstorm whose gale-force winds brought down hundreds of trees and utility poles on the night of Aug. 7. This time, however, the outage does not appear to be weather-related.
According to the PPL Outage Center map, it was caused by a tripped breaker or blown fuse.
Residents reported that they were in the midst of preparing dinner when they lost power Monday evening.
The area affected by the outage includes the Society Hill development on Friedensville Road, Lehigh University’s Goodman Campus, parts of Hellertown on the west side of Main Street north of Water Street, and a number of neighborhoods along Hickory Hill Road, Meadows Road and Skibo Road in Lower Saucon Township.
The same roughly triangular area was particularly hard-hit by the early August storm, which blew down trees entangled with wires that kept Friedensville Road closed–and traffic detoured–for nearly three days.
As of 7:20 p.m., PPL was reporting that a total of 1,814 households were without power in Lower Saucon Township, the City of Bethlehem and northwestern Hellertown borough.
The company’s outage map indicated that service is expected to be restored to the area by 9 p.m. Monday.
A screenshot of the PPL Outage Center map shows the area affected by Monday’s power outage, which the company says was caused by a tripped breaker or blown fuse. (Credit: PPL)
