Update: Power Restored to Most Customers by 10 p.m.

*Updated at 10:25 p.m. Saturday

By 10 p.m., WE Energies restored power to the majority of the 2,200 customers who lost power in Mount Pleasant and Caledonia Saturday afternoon.

Utility spokesperson Brian Manthey confirmed for Patch that another 650 customers were brought back on line by 10 p.m. Of the remaining homes without power, he said he hoped those customers would have their power restored by midnight.

"We know how very frustrating this is and we are working hard to get this done," he said.

The issue for the last group is damaged meters. Crews are going door-to-door to check for damaged units, replacing them when appropriate. Most of the homes being checked are along Highway 31 north of Shirley Avenue, Manthey added. 

"We got started with this part of the repairs around 7 p.m., and we're hoping to complete by midnight," he said. "It's slow-going because we have to be sure it's safe to re-energize the home."

Just under 1,000 We Energies customers in Mount Pleasant and Caledonia remained without power as of 6 p.m. Saturday — about half the number who had no electricity at the peak of the outage.

There were 526 customers without power in Mount Pleasant and 463 in Caledonia as of 6 p.m., according to the We Energies outage map.

Manthey said a broken insulator on a pole near the Shirley Avenue substation - close to Highway 31 - caused two wires to touch. The wood crossbar at the top of the utility pole also broke, causing the wires to come together and triggering the power outage.

At approximately 2:15 p.m. Saturday, Patch reader Rees Roberts said he heard two loud bangs at the same time he lost power.

"It sounded almost like explosions," he said.

Manthey said the breakers tripped and their opening produced the noises, but nothing actually exploded.

"They can make some pretty loud noises when that happens and the system shuts down," Manthey added.

He clarified that the outage area was roughly bordered by 5-Mile Road to the north, Shirley Lane to the south, Highway H to the west and Settle Drive to the east.

The first calls to We Energies came in about 2:40 p.m., he said, and residents continue to call, which Manthey encouraged.

"We are getting quite a few calls, and people should call so we get their outage and location recorded," he said.

Residents who have a power outage and have not yet called in can phone the We Energies outage line at (800) 662-4797. 

Racine Uncovered scanner reports indicate some of the problem began in the 4700 block of Indian Hills Drive shortly before 3 p.m. A home on that block may have suffered substantial electrical damage, and the entire subdivision was still without power at 3:30 p.m.