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Power returns for Ohio City residents and businesses before winter storm arrives

Cleveland Public Power reported that service was restored just after 7 p.m. on Wednesday after winter weather corroded underground cables.

CLEVELAND — Power was restored Wednesday night in Ohio City after residents and business owners spent hours in the dark ahead of the winter storm.

Cleveland Public Power confirmed a power outage for those on the near west side at around 2 p.m. Wednesday. Crews were dispatched to try to solve the problem and spent hours doing so.

The public power service said electricity was restored at 7:13p.m. Officials said the cause was due to two underground cables corroding due to snow, salt, and rainwater.

But the damage had already been done at some places.

The outage meant some businesses, like Larder Delicatessen and Bakery on West 29th Street, were forced to close early.

"Like, I'm ashamed as a Clevelander," said Jeremy Umansky, the owner and chef at Larder. "Why can't we function? Why can't we work? Why are these things happening when they shouldn't be?"

He was frustrated with the latest of many power outages, he said, especially after he had to turn a line of patrons away. He also had 26 customers in his bakery when he was forced to close.

Umansky was also concerned about losing thousands of dollars, especially after January when his bakery had a tough time doing business due to a rise in COVID cases and supply chain issues impacting ingredients he could get.

"I mean I have thousands and thousands of dollars of perishable product in here that we cycle through as a restaurant, in and out, in and out continually. And now I don't have an out. I have a lot in, but I don't have an out," he said.

He and others in the neighborhood continue to call on Cleveland Public Power for more transparency and answers when it comes to power outages. Umansky would also like to see more solutions to better the grid and infrastructure to make it more reliable.

3News asked Cleveland Public Power how many customers were impacted, but they could not give us a number.

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