Transformer shot, results in power outage Wednesday in Abbeville

Many in Abbeville woke up early Wednesday morning without power.
Inclement weather was not to blame, nor was there a breakdown of any equipment in the electrical system.
The cause...someone fired a weapon at an electrical substation, hitting a transformer. That led to an outage for at least 25% of the city.
“It’s very frustrating,” Mayor Mark Piazza said Wednesday morning.
At approximately 3:50 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 29, the Abbeville Police Department received a call of a blown transformer at the
Felicity Street electrical substation, which caused a power outage for a large portion of the city. Based on the initial investigation, the blown transformer resulted from the it being shot.
Wednesday morning, Piazza said the situation was being treated as a “pure act” of vandalism. However, by the afternoon, he said the seriousness of the situation had become clearer.
“We found another bullet hole in a smaller piece of the equipment in the electrical substation,” Piazza said. “They shot it more than once. By law, under federal energy guidelines, any act of sabotage of a high-voltage electrical system that is part of the transmission grid that affects a large number of the population is a federal offense. We are required to report that to the Department of Energy and the FBI. We are in the process of making that report.”
An early assessment of the situation showed that thousands in the city lost power and the city incurred thousands more in costs due to the damage.
“It did severe damage to the main transformer at the Felicity substation,” Piazza said. “We had probably 2,500 residences and several businesses without power. It’s probably somewhere in the vicinity of $150,000 worth of damage.”
The mayor said it is likely that the transformer cannot be repaired.
“This city is very fortunate to have a backup transformer in stock,” Piazza said.
City crews worked to install the replacement transformer throughout the day. Piazza expected the complete repairs to take until Wednesday evening.
According to Lt. Jonathan Touchet, a spokesman for the Abbeville Police Department, detectives were called to the scene and began their investigation. However, no suspects had been identified as of the Abbeville Meridional’s press time on Wednesday. Touchet said that no further details regarding their investigation would be released due to the active and ongoing investigation.
The Abbeville Police Department asks anyone who has any information regarding this or any crime to please contact the Abbeville Police Department by calling 893-2511. Additionally, you may contact our “Tips” line at 892-6777. All callers may remain anonymous. Citizens may also send anonymous tips through CrimeStoppers of Vermilion by calling 740-TIPS or the P3 app, which can be downloaded through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
“This is very serious,” Piazza said. “You have people who use medical equipment. They use breathing machines and those types of things in their homes. They depend on electricity. This could put some citizens in life-threatening situations. Thankfully, it wasn’t 98 degrees and in the middle of hurricane season.”

A press release from the APD contributed to this story.