Vandalism to power lines under investigation

WILLOW LAKE — North-Western Energy customers in the Willow Lake area are being asked to keep an eye out for suspicious activity near power lines or substations.

Several recent outages impacting Willow Lake, Henry and surrounding communities were caused by someone shooting at NorthWestern Energy’s electric equipment and infrastructure.

“While making repairs related to the outages, NorthWestern Energy linemen observed damage consistent with bullet or pellet damage,” said Mike Sydow, South Dakota and Nebraska general manager of operations.

“This type of vandalism is dangerous to the general public and to the person causing the damage,” he said. “We encourage anyone who observes suspicious behavior or has information concerning these or other incidents to please contact local authorities.”

The company also reminds people to stay clear of power lines that look damaged or have fallen and to call 1-800-245-6977.

For the complete article see the 01-26-2013 issue.

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