Power outage in Wilmington affects thousands

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A power outage in Wilmington left many drivers and business owners in the dark Thursday night. Progress Energy says the power went out at about 7:30 p.m. The outage affected nearly 3,000 customers.

Multiple traffic lights were out on College Rd. and a few on Market St. Wilmington police directed traffic at the corner of College Rd. and New Center Dr. Many businesses lost power and customers.

“We let the folks that are already in here eating finish up, because the food will stay hot for a good hour or more with the hot wells, and we just close up and wait,” Golden Corral Manager Teresa Sturch said. “If the power comes back on, then we will recook everything and put fresh stuff back out and carry on.”

It took a little more than an hour for crews to restore power. Progress Energy says an equipment failure on a main power source failed and caused the outage.