Power restored following South Philly ‘equipment issue,' PECO says

PECO officials said power has been restored after about 1,000 homes and businesses were without power early Thursday due to an equipment issue.

The incident happened after, what PECO officials called “an equipment issue” at the intersection of South 4th Street and Jackson Street in South Philadelphia at about 4:30 a.m. on Thursday morning.

Whatever the issue may have been, it caused flames to lap the tip of an electrical pole at the intersection and neighbors told NBC10 that they say a “rainbow” of electricity when the incident occurred.

“I looked out the window after I heard the first ‘whomp’,” a neighbor on the block told NBC10’s Lili Zheng as she visited the scene early Thursday. “And, I saw over the houses it was just like an arc, almost like a rainbow, of blue electricity. So, we were out here, just to see what was going on and it was like a spark show.”

PECO officials said that about 1,000 customers were without power due to the incident, but noted that crews were working quickly to restore power through the community.

In an update, just before 7 a.m., PECO officials said only about 270 homes and businesses in South Philadelphia were still without power.

And, about 15 minutes later, PECO officials said, power was restored to all customers.

NBC10 is working to learn more.

Note: This story has been updated after PECO officials said fewer homes were impacted than initially reported and the electrical discharge and fire were caused by an equipment issue.