Power Knocked Out For Over 300 Summit Customers

For about 45 minutes in blistering 90 degree temperatures more than a couple hundred Summit locations lost power, including the  which lost juice to its computer servers and central air. "All classes are canceled for the remainder of the day and will be rescheduled due to a power outage," said a tweet from the center around 2:27p.m.

In all, 324 Summit customers were left without power today according to Jersey Central Power & Light spokesman Gerry Ricciardi. As of 2:40p.m. power was restored, but crews were still working, he said. Laurel Avenue, Elm Street and Ashland Road were among the locations affected by the outage, which Ricciardi said didn't necessarily have to do with air conditioner usage on a day with temperatures hovering near 100 degrees. 

Bruce Lyons, a communications manager at the Arts Center said power in the area gets spotty from time to time and the center recently lost power once before. "We should probably get a generator," he joked.

Nearby on Elm Street at the headquarters, squad president John Christmann said he wouldn't be able to tell if his building lost power because of the generator that keeps things running smoothly. Christmann said his squad hadn't answered any heat-related calls in the past two days. "Everyone in Summit is handling the heat very well," he said.