Company aware of power blips in area

Minnesota Power was investigating a series of momentary power outages in Cloquet and Duluth this month. On Monday, spokeswoman Kelley Eldien said the power company has received numerous calls about the “momentaries” that last for just seconds but can cause items such as computers to go down. There have been similar calls about outages in the East Hillside neighborhood of Duluth. The cause remained a mystery to crews earlier this week, Eldien said.

Power companies across the country have reported more “momentaries” as power grid equipment becomes more automatic and sophisticated in detecting problems such as fallen tree limbs or animal disruptions. The technology is designed to prevent prolonged outages.

Minnesota Power offers its explanation on its website in the FAQ section on outages. “Most distribution lines are protected by special devices called breakers and reclosers,” the page explained. “They not only cut off power when a permanent fault such as a downed line occurs, they also sense momentary faults — such as when a tree limb falls on a line and creates a brief short circuit — and, after a short time, they reclose and re-energize the circuit. If the tree limb has fallen clear of the line, as frequently happens, the short-circuit condition no longer exists and the line will stay energized. When this occurs, there is a momentary loss of power to the customers on that circuit.”