DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. — Update, Aug. 5: Dauphin County Prison officials say full power was restored to the facility via generator at approximately 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 4.
"One of the generators providing power to the prison failed at about 4:30 pm today," officials stated. "The current assessment of county staff and contractors is that full power has been restored to the facility.
"Assessment of the damaged powerline continues."
Previously: Dauphin County Prison officials are providing an update after the power went out across the facility.
Dauphin County Facilities Maintenance staff reported that the outage happened late Friday morning when a subcontractor, who was not employed by Dauphin County and was working on an unrelated project, inadvertently damaged a powerline while digging near the Dauphin County Prison.
The resulting power outage impacted multiple county buildings, including the prison.
Dauphin County contractor, G.R. Sponaugle, is currently on site addressing the outages. They have reportedly assessed the functionality of the prison's emergency generators and are providing a generator to meet the facility's full electrical needs.
The warden confirmed that temperatures in the Spring Creek section of the prison have stabilized; however, temperatures in other parts of the prison vary, with some areas exceeding 85 degrees.
Medical staff at the prison are actively responding to any prisoner and staff needs as they arise, according to Dauphin County officials.
Additionally, air flowing through the vent system produced a "distinct smell" following the outage. According to officials, there is no gas leak at the prison and DCP maintenance staff are working to restore the AC system.
Due to these issues, visitation has been suspended for the day.
According to officials, the prison will be fully powered by generators later this evening.
