A power outage that impacted the Orchards Mall this morning has been resolved and the mall has re-opened for the balance of the day.
Orchards Mall management says that the mall’s power returned shortly before 2pm today, ending several hours of a blackout that forced stores, the U.S. Postal Service station there, and other businesses to close down while service was down.
Exact cause of the power loss was not immediately available, but the issue has been resolved and the mall is now back up and operating once again according to the office of the mall manager.
****UPDATE 8:30PM *****UPDATE 8:30PM *****
We received word this evening that the issue with the Orchards Mall electrical outage today was once again a delinquent bill. According to a person who works at the mall but requested anonymity, “AEP shut the power off before 7:30am because the payment was late. We came back up at 2pm.”
Meanwhile, the due diligence process for the sale of the mall to an anonymous bidder last month continues. The deal was expected to have been completed by now, but continues to undergo scrutiny. The top bid of $2.1-million fell short of owner Michael Kohan’s desired $2.5-million target, however, all indications are that he is proceeding with the sale and work continues in that realm. Stay tuned.
Apparently payment was successfully made today on the delinquent utility bill because the mall re-opened after 2pm as indicated in this earlier report, and the assumption is the mall will remain open so long as the bills are paid.