JACKSON BRACING FOR BLACKOUT

JACKSON, Mo. -- In some parts of Jackson next week, residents won't have to bother turning off their lights for the night. The city will do it for them.

The city's municipal utility plans to cut power in the northern and eastern parts of the city Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. During those periods, six city employees and a six-person contractor crew will replace equipment and wire large transformers at electrical substations on Highway 34-72 near the Jackson Skate Center and next to the main power plant on Florence. The work is part of the city's $4 million upgrade of its electrical distribution system.

The city has notified the 50 people known to have special needs, primarily those who depend on electricity for breathing machines or use monitors to control sleep apnea. But not all 50 will be affected next week. Those who are affected will need a battery backup or should stay with relatives or at a motel, said Jim Roach, the city's public works director.

He said a few hundred people will be affected by the power interruption. Most live in the Bent Creek and Fairway Estates area. Schools, businesses and emergency personnel also have been notified.

Police Chief Marvin Sides said extra patrols will be sent into the eastern and northern parts of the city while the power is off. "It's the same thing we do in the event of a power outage," he said.

The city has been able to avoid cutting the power to the two nursing homes within its boundaries.

Construction on the project began last year and is expected to be complete by the end of the next calendar year with no corresponding rate increase.

Power was interrupted Monday night on the west side of town, and a few people who hadn't heard about the plan were upset. "People are probably going to be a lot less upset by us doing this than they would if the system failed and we were down for weeks," Roach said.

"It's analogous to having to take a detour when repairing a street. Bear with us a few hours. We will make the system more dependable and reliable with fewer fluctuations in voltage."

City administrator Steve Wilson said there was some concern about proceeding with the work Monday night because thunderstorms were predicted. The storms didn't materialize, but Roach would have pulled the crew off the job until the storm passed, he said.

"This is dangerous from the standpoint that they are working with high voltage," he said. "Working at night makes it a little more cumbersome. Throw in some weather, rain and lightning, and it's not a real good environment for electrical work."

Shorter interruptions probably will be necessary during the day after these are completed, Roach said.

The work was scheduled to be done prior to Christmas but was postponed because of frigid weather. "We were afraid people would be down with no heat," he said. "If we'd had a problem we would have had a bad situation."

Spring offered the next opportunity to interrupt power before the weather gets hot, he said.