UPDATED: Power Outage Leaves Customers in Dark in Bristol, Bristol Twp.

Updated at 7:20 P.M. 

According to PECO officials, the power outage that caused about 1.000 customers in Bristol Borough and Bristol Township to lose power was caused by a tree hitting an aerial line Thursday afternoon.

PECO Spokesperson Greg Smore said the power loss for customers occurred at 3:33 p.m. and all but 11 of the 971 impacted customer had service restored within 45 minutes.

Smore said that a broken arm on the aerial of a power line was the reason for the outage, which was caused by a tree branch on Bath Road.

Smores said that most likely the windy conditions caused the tree branch to hit the power line.

PECO crews were arriving on scene as of press time will be installing a new transformer, Smore said.

Crews would have to clear the tree involved prior to any work beginning PECO officials said, to ensure the safety of the community and those working on the scene.

A number of reports from LevittownNow readers cited hearing loud booms akin to hearing explosions around the time of the outage.

Smore said that’s often the case when the circuit breaker for the transformer is switched back on he said, adding that it makes a loud popping noise that can be mistaken for an explosion.

PECO will be working on Bath Road to replace the transformer through the evening he said.

 Original Post:

Hundreds of customers are in the dark in Bristol Borough and Bristol Township Thursday afternoon.

Bristol Township Acting Chief of Police Lt. John Godzieba said a blown transformer on Bristol-Oxford Valley Road is suspected of causing the outage.

The transformer that failed is located near the township municipal building. A PECO outage map shows 132 customers in Bristol Borough, 837 customers in Bristol Township and 71 customers in Bensalem are in the dark as of 4:15 p.m. Bristol Township police and fire police were dispatched to major intersections to director traffic following the outage.

The outage was reported shortly before 4 p.m.

The majority of intersections along Veterans Highway (Route 413) and other busy spots like Bristol-Oxford Valley and Mill Creek Road are in the dark, Godzieba said. The transformer that caused the outage burned through a portion of the wood that holds it up.

It is unknown as of press time whether the outage contributed to an accident at the intersection of New Falls Road and Veterans Highway.

Godzieba said PECO was enroute to restore power.