No power for 12 hours? Duke Energy's plan for Ellettsville raising some eyebrows

A planned 12-hour power outage for parts of Ellettsville on Sunday is causing some confusion and concerns about public safety, with morning temperatures expected to be near freezing.

Duke Energy plans to shut off power to about 1,000 customers between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Sunday to replace an underground cable.

Jolly Old Elf:Where to see Santa in Bloomington, Ellettsville this holiday season

The utility has released maps to show the coverage area, and a spokeswoman said the company has “attempted to reach customers” to let them know, but Town Council member William Ellis said some people are still unclear about whether they will have power on Sunday.

“It’s frustrating,” he said.

Ellis said temperatures, which are expected to reach highs of only the low 40s during the day, also present a concern, though he said people will be able to warm up at the fire station, 5080 W. Ind. 46.

The power outage will affect four downtown traffic signals, and where possible, the police department will install temporary stop signs, said EPD Administrative Deputy Chief Tony Bowlen. However, some of the affected signals are at state roads, which will not get temporary stop signs.

“It would probably be wise to use your GPS to get around Ellettsville,” Bowlen said.

If people have to drive in Ellettsville Sunday, he asked that they remain patient.

“Give us a little Christmas spirit,” Bowlen said. “I think it will all go smoothly.”

Ellis said he also worried about how the length of the outage would affect food stored in refrigerators as well as businesses that may not be able to provide services.

Duke Energy spokeswoman Angeline Protogere said via email that the underground cable the utility plans to replace is “important to the reliability of the electric service in Ellettsville.”

“We know this is an inconvenience, and we apologize for that,” she said. “We coordinated a date with the town of Ellettsville, police and fire personnel and the local school and have reached out to some other key organizations in the area.

“We have worked with the high school to bring in a generator to power the school for their holiday production that day,” Protogere said.

She said the cable project initially was to take place earlier in the year but had to be rescheduled “due to storm response and work.”

Protogere said the work is “part of an overall electric grid modernization program, and this project is scheduled to be completed this year.”

Big raises for Ellettsville?Ellettsville's full-time employees could get a $10K raise from income tax hike

Maps the utility has shared caused some confusion among residents, with Ellis saying the maps are hard to read because they lack street names. One commenter on the police department’s Facebook page said she was “not even going to try and navigate that map.”

Duke also has updated the maps, which has caused some confusion among residents and business owners who were uncertain about whether they would be affected.

Ronnie Hinson, pastor of Ellettsville First Assembly of God, said a Duke map showed his church, at 115 W. Association St., to be in the affected area, but he had not been notified of the planned outage. He contacted Duke Thursday morning but had not heard back by early afternoon.

He said he also has fielded inquiries from parishioners as to whether they would be able to attend church service at 10 a.m.

“We will still have a Sunday morning worship service,” Hinson said.

Ellis, too, lives in the affected area and said he was not sure whether his power would be out.

Protogere said people can contact Duke’s local manager, Liz Irwin, at liz.irwin@duke-energy.com, if they are unsure if they will be affected.

Farmer suggested people get up early Sunday to turn on their heat before the power goes out. He also said common sense would suggest people charge their phones and other electronic devices before the outage.

Protogere said people do not need to unplug their electronic devices.

Ellis said Duke’s planned upgrades to the electric grid are sorely needed, as the town has recently experienced about three to four monthly outages, with some lasting a few seconds and others a few minutes.

“Hopefully this is correcting that,” he said.

For emergencies, people should call 911. Non-emergency calls can be directed to the police department at 812-876-2272. Duke is directing customers to call 800-521-2232.

Boris Ladwig can be reached at bladwig@heraldt.com.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Duke Energy plans 12-hour power outage for downtown Ellettsville