CALCUTTA - Business owners in St. Clair Township found themselves doing business the old fashioned way - without computers - on Friday afternoon during a power outage that lasted about an hour.
St. Clair Township Trustee James Sabatini, who owns Sabatini Shoes, said he kept the business open for customers and kept handwritten records of the transactions. Sabatini said the outage was caused by an equipment failure, not the result of a downed power pole or power lines.
With so many businesses and residents affected on a busy Friday afternoon, Sabatini praised AEP crews for restoring power quickly after learning of the problem.
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Customers continued to shop in the greenhouse at Randy’s Raisings farm market on Calcutta-Smith Ferry Road during a power outage Friday afternoon that lasted about an hour. (Photo by Nancy Tullis)
At Randy's Raisings farm market, customers in search of plants and flowers for weekend gardening and for Mother's Day, continued to shop through the greenhouse, paying for purchases with either a check or cash. Customers said they were surprised the outage extended to the business, which is on Calcutta-Smith Ferry Road.
Carmen Prati-Miller, an AEP spokeswoman, said about 3,200 AEP customers were without power from 12:50 to 2 p.m.
The outage included the businesses along State Route 170 and the rest of St. Clair Township's business district. Prati-Miller said an animal got into the company's equipment at the Calcutta substation. Some customers in the Glenmoor area were also affected, she said.
