Power restored in N.E. Philadelphia

Service has been restored to all of the 20,000 customers affected by this morning's power outage in the Mayfair and Holmesburg sections of the city, PECO says.

Most customers were without electric service for about three hours because of a circuit breaker that caught fire at an electrical substation on Rhawn Street, near Torresdale Avenue.

And additional 5,000 finally had service restored by 11:30 a.m., according to PECO spokesman Ben Armstrong.

Armstrong said PECO and fire officials responded to the small fire about 4:45 a.m. They were able to extinguish it by 7:30 a.m., but it took some time for crews to examine the extent of the damage.

"We were able to restore service to customers using other equipment and by rerouting power in the street," Armstrong said.

The outage knocked out street and traffic lights, giving the area an eerie early-morning feel and snarling the rush hour on thoroughfares there.