Power restored in southeast Cedar Rapids after substation issue

UPDATE: Power is returning to businesses along First Avenue East after a problem at an Alliant Energy substation knocked out electrical service in the area around 9:15 a.m. today.

Traffic lights on First Avenue East are now operating correctly, and Alliant's website shows only four Linn County customers without power.

Firefighters responded to the substation, on 40th Street SE just off First Avenue, for an electrical substation that was smoking.

Workers at Zimmerman Ford, just across the street from the substation, got an unexpected break when the power went out. Operations there stalled.

“We've got cars in the air that we can't even get down,” Vern Edson, service coordinator, said this morning. “We've got customers wondering if they should go home. We can't even print a bill.”

A dentist stopped by to ask electrical workers when the power would be back, too.

Stoplights on First Avenue East between 35th Street and 40th Street were out. Some drivers treated the two intersections as four-way stops, while others were flying through.

An arrester, a device to protect the system, blew for an unknown reason.