MECHANIC FALLS – A series of power outages throughout the day Wednesday were part of planned maintenance, according to a Central Maine Power Co. spokesman. It was all over by suppertime.

The spokesman said power was cut and then restored in five minute intervals through the day as loads were switched from one circuit to the other. Most residents of the town were notified and had been expecting the brief outages, he said.

Some residents, however, complained that the outages were unexpected and that they caused problems, particularly with air conditioning during the hottest time of summer.

On Tuesday, residents in Mechanic Falls and Minot reported being without power for hours. One Mechanic Falls man referred to it as “one heat sweltering hell for eight hours.”

Those outages were the result of a problem at a substation, CMP said. It was repaired by Wednesday morning.

No further maintenance was planned in the area for the remainder of the week.