Power being restored in Detroit after outage
By Associated Press
Dec 2, 2014 2:29 PM CST
Mary Holt waits in the lobby of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center after being assisted down 11 flights of stairs in her wheelchair after the Detroit downtown area was hit by a massive power outage, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014. The outage closed several government buildings, including some courthouses,...   (Associated Press)

DETROIT (AP) — Detroit officials say power is gradually being restored to government buildings, schools and other facilities after a major cable failure caused parts of the city to go dark.

Local officials say electricity had been restored to about a third of the customers served by Detroit's public lighting department by mid-afternoon Tuesday.

Mayor Mike Duggan says the power grid hasn't been modernized in decades in Detroit, which is emerging from the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. DTE Energy Co. is taking over the department and upgrading the system.

The outages prompted Detroit Public Schools and Wayne State University to dismiss students early. Other affected facilities include Joe Louis Arena, home of the Detroit Red Wings.

Service also was suspended by the Detroit People Mover, an elevated rail line looping downtown.

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