Updated 2:20 p.m.
Evergy has identified an issue with one of their transformers that could be contributing to the power surge issues. The city is coordinating with them so the city can maintain power while the issue is being fixed. A timeline will likely come soon, the city said.
Updated noon
Electric services will be shut off at noon in the area of 13th and Ash for two to three hours as crews make repairs. A pinhole in the primary was identified and will be replaced, though it is unclear if this is the cause of the surges. There are some areas of town that are not using that circuit and are having issues, but the city hopes this will address some of the issues in that area.
Updated 9 a.m. Tuesday
The city’s energy outages don’t seem to be due to a cyber attack or hack, officials said Tuesday morning as they continue to investigate what is causing problems.
If needed, electrical programmers will be in no later than Wednesday to evaluate breakers at the substation and to possibly reprogram the city’s system, according to a news release.
Evergy crews are continuing to investigate possible issues with their transformer.
The city noted another update would come by 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Update as of 4:35 p.m. Monday
The city said crews are still manually inspective the above ground infrastructure to identify the issue. Evergy staff and contractors are looking for issues at the main substation, though nothing has been identified yet.
Municipal energy providers from Osawatomie and Gardner will assist in the efforts Tuesday.
City IT staff are investigating internal software to rule out a cyber attack.
The city is asking that residents review electrical infrastructure inside homes and report irregularities or outages to this website.
There is no determination on utility bill adjustments, but the current issues will not be on the upcoming bill as they are not within the billing period. The city said in case residents experienced revenue loss due to electrical issues over the last month, shut-offs will be extended to the end of the month.
Another update will come at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. Significant updates between now and then will be on the city’s Facebook page.
Update as of 2 p.m.
The substation consultant is reviewing programs to identify what the problem is, but at this time there have been no new developments. Curves and voltage history are being reviewed and manual checks on lines, breaks and transformers are ongoing.
The city is still unsure what is causing power surges throughout town, officials said Monday afternoon.
The city is receiving assistance from area municipalities, contracted partners and Evergy. Crews will work on the issue until a solution is determined, according to a news release. The power blinks are occuring fast and not tripping breakers, making it more difficult to find faults.
So far, crews have tested lines with infrared cameras to check for loose connections and temperature issues. The city said ground checks have been installed on breakers. Tree limbs have been removed that could have been interfering with lines, though that does not seem to be related to the issue.
The city said next steps for residents related to billing and claims for damages will be addressed once the issue is resolved.
The city has a preliminary map of the affected areas as a result of calls coming in. To report issues with your property, call city offices at 785-542-3100 and dial extension 7 for Public Works.
