Lights Back On in Galveston After Wednesday Blackout

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) _ The lights are back on around Southeast Texas after power outages linked to dry weather hit the region a day after several nearby refineries and chemical plants lost electricity.

Houston-based CenterPoint Energy on Wednesday night reported that power had been restored to all but 570 of more than 14,000 customers left without power in the Houston-Galveston area after three substations failed.

Utility spokeswoman Penny Todd told The Associated Press that the outages were due to accumulated salt on power lines. She cited dry conditions along the Gulf of Mexico, sand in the air, high winds and no rain to keep the lines clear. Crews cleaned the exposed lines Wednesday.

The outage came a day after salt on power lines were blamed for blackouts at Texas City refineries and chemical plants.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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