The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox.

Power crews responded to downtown Reading Wednesday morning, after an electrical problem left parts of the town in the dark.

Town departments first received reports of electrical issues at about 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Businesses in the 600 block of Main Street, between Haven and Woburn streets, reported issues including a burned surge protector, electrical smells and flickering lights. Initial reports also indicated a traffic light was out.

“We heard a popping noise. And then the power went on and off,” said John Warnock of Reading Trophy and Shirt.

Inside a neighboring jewelry store, the owner also smelled a burning, electrical odor coming from the outlets underneath his cash register. “There's always crazy stuff. But that's kind of crazy ... I mean, the lights going nuts. Just a random on-off, on-off. I've never seen anything like it,” storeowner Peter Simms.

Crews from Reading Municipal Light Department said the issue was caused by a small piece of equipment that failed prematurely and a permanent repair was in process.

The department cut power to eight businesses during the issue out of an abundance of caution.

Reading firefighters went door-to-door telling workers to wait outside and shutting off the power while they used a thermal imaging device to make sure nothing was smoldering in the walls.

“So the quickest way is for us to just go through with the thermal imager and look for heat that shouldn't be there,” said Reading Fire Deputy Chief Tony Delsignore.

The power was turned back on after a few hours, but by then some businesses had already closed for the day. “A day of business is tough. But we communicate with our customers well. So, we had a few people come by and pick up and stuff. So, we'll get back,” Warnock said.

On Saturday, a voltage issue in Waltham caused a multitude of issues in the Massachusetts city, leading to damaged meters and wiring. Waltham police said transformer fires, light signal failures and smoke in buildings were reported throughout the city Saturday afternoon.

Eversource said it was continuing to investigate the root cause of the voltage issue.

Hearst Television participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.