When Officer Robert Mosback drove his police cruiser into a utility pole on Riverside Avenue late Saturday, it caused two separate electrical circuits carrying nearly 28,000 volts to fall on top of a line that normally carries 4,800 volts, according to Connecticut Light & Power.
The resulting power surge, which affected more than 800 customers, blew out computers, appliances, phones, wall sockets, televisions, microwaves, washing machines and more.
Though the electrical lines went dead almost instantly, the surge created by the accident sent more than six times the normal voltage through the area before getting cut off, a utility spokesman said Tuesday.
Mitch Gross, the power company’s spokesman, said customers who suffered damage to electronics from the surge caused by the accident should phone City Hall to get a claim form to seek reimbursement.
To file a claim, call the city’s claims office at (860) 584-6155.
Read Wednesday's Bristol Press for more.
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