Transformer failure leaves 5,000 Cape residents without power

More than 5,000 AmerenUE customers were without electricity in Cape Girardeau on Sunday due to a transformer failure that affected three substations, according to the company's communication executive, Tim Fox.

Customers lost power around 9 a.m., and around 835 customers were still without power at 5 p.m.

Fox said the company was hoping to have power restored to all its customers by 10 p.m. Sunday.

Several traffic lights on Broadway and businesses in the downtown district were reported to have no electricity early Sunday.

"Power has been restored to two of three [substations]," Fox said. "The third will require a mobile transformer that may take up to 10 hours to put into service."

Fox added that most of the customers served by the third substation will have power restored within a few hours due to a switch to a different power source, but some may be waiting up to 10 hours.

Fox wasn't sure which area of Cape Girardeau is served by the third substation.

According to the AmerenUE's website, 4,829 customers were powerless in the 63701 ZIP code, and another 335 were without electric service in the 63703 ZIP code.