Published Tuesday, October 27, 2009 6:05 AM

Storms knock out power, phone lines

Classes were canceled Monday for Gause schools due to a power outage caused by early morning storms, but students will return Tuesday, officials said.

It was unclear how many residents and businesses were without power and for how long, but officials in Milam County said the lights were back on by the afternoon.

In College Station, about 3,400 customers lost power at about 4 a.m. Monday. College Station Utilities officials said the problem stemmed from an insulator at the city's Greens Prairie substation, but all power was restored by 5:30 a.m., most even earlier.

Another problem hit when the phone line at Utility Customer Services was overloaded by those reporting outages, prompting officials to set up alternate numbers for customers.

If the phone outage continues into Tuesday, city officials are asking customers needing to reach the utilities department to call 764-3478, 764-3469, 764-3477, 764-3545, 764-3525, 764-3593 or 764-3549.

Officials from Bryan Texas Utilities said some minor outages were experienced in various locations through the city, but that the power was back up early.

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