Blackout in University City impacts Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station
The outage began along Market Street around 4:30 a.m. and impacted about 500 customers.
A power outage in University City that created issues for travelers at Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station early Tuesday morning was mostly resolved by 7:30 a.m., but at least seven customers — including a mix of retail, office space, and an apartment complex — continued experiencing service disruptions into early afternoon.
The outage began along Market Street when underground cables overheated around 4:30 a.m., according to a Peco spokesperson. The issue led to a power outage initially affecting about 500 customers in and around University City, including 30th Street Station, which is currently operating on a backup generator.
Elevators and escalators at the station are “out of service until further notice,” according to SEPTA. Trains are still running and no delays have been reported out of the station, but the agency is encouraging passengers with disabilities to travel to Suburban Station for bus service.
Peco crews are on the scene and working to isolate the outage area and restore power, according to the spokesperson. Thirteen customers, including 30th Street Station, were still without power around 7:30 a.m. By 10 a.m. only seven customers in the University City area remained powerless. Peco has crews on site making repairs and is in communication with building owners, a spokesperson said, though it has no timeline for when power will be restored to remaining customers. The utility company has not ruled out the possibility of bringing in generators to power the remaining buildings.
Traffic lights are still dark along Market Street between 31st Streets and 34th Streets, according to TV reports and social media posts.