Carowinds hit with 3rd power outage in just weeks

Carowinds lost power again on Wednesday morning, just as the theme park was opening for the day.

The outage lasted only about six minutes, but some rides were closed for several hours because each had to undergo safety checks, multiple media outlets reported.

A Duke Energy spokeswoman blamed the outage on a “rare” equipment malfunction at a nearby substation.

The outage was the third at the park since June 9, when a damaged transformer left riders stuck on at least three rides, including the Windseeker, a swinging rotating ride 301-feet tall.

On June 12, a power outage that Duke Energy blamed on a bad underground cable closed some rides for several hours.

The first two outages may be related because the equipment involved in each outage works together, said Duke Energy.

After the second outage, Duke Energy said they began inspecting every piece of electrical equipment that serves the park and have verified that there are no connection or overloading issues.

Carowinds said in a statement that Wednesday’s incident happened prior to the park opening. Rides and attractions were being opened following daily safety checks.

This story was originally published June 30, 2016 at 9:04 AM with the headline "Carowinds hit with 3rd power outage in just weeks."