Cedar Rapids businesses recover from power surge

CEDAR RAPIDS - Alliant Energy crews worked around the clock to get power back on in downtown Cedar Rapids.

Crews shut off power to about 2,000 customers Monday night after one line failed and power surged downtown.

By Tuesday morning, shops and stop lights were no longer dark, and everyone's power was back on. For several businesses, however, the repairs from the power surge are now underway.

Electricians buzzed from room to room at Physician's Clinic of Iowa.

"It was quite extensive in the number of outlets that were affected,” said PCI Practice Director Pat Buelow.

They said some of the power strips were actually flaming when the power surged and a handful of computers started popping. The air conditioning was also knocked off line, which halted MRIs.

"We just have one more unit to bring up, that's our MRI, and as soon as the building is cool enough to support that system, we'll be bringing that up and will be fully functional again,” Buelow said.

PCI is just one of several downtown businesses that dealt with repairs. Alliant Energy, the tallest building in downtown Cedar Rapids, also needed repairs. It temporarily lost use of its elevators.

"It becomes a safety issue when you have that high voltage. All of the electronics really don't like that. Here at the Tower we had to fix our elevators because our motors burned up,” said Alliant Energy's Justin Foss.

Parlor City Pub didn't lose equipment, but did lose business. It closed early and couldn't serve any food. The owner estimated he lost nearly $1,000 in business.

"We lost our dinner rush hour and I think the power came on at around 12:45 to 1:15,” said Jon Jelinek.

Alliant said any business that needs repairs will have to contact their insurance companies to pay for those problems.