Jasper man charged after intentional breaker tampering causes outages

Businesses, apartment complexes, government facilities and residences across Jasper lost power early Tuesday after authorities say someone intentionally switched off breakers at multiple properties, triggering a wave of outages that rippled through the city.

Jasper police identified Andrew Miller, 35, as the suspect and detained him while crews from the Jasper Electric Department worked to trace the interruptions. What first looked like a utility problem or weather damage turned out to be deliberate interference with exterior breaker panels at several locations, leaving parts of the city without electricity and forcing responders to piece together the full extent of the disruption.

Miller was charged with felony criminal mischief, a Level 6 felony under Indiana law when damage causes a substantial interruption or impairment of utility service to the public. He was also reported lodged in the Dubois County Security Center as investigators continued working with the electric department to measure the damage and determine how many sites were affected.

The outage hit at a difficult time for local businesses and residents starting their day. Power interruptions can stall food service, knock out refrigeration, disrupt alarms and business operations, and create problems for apartment tenants and anyone relying on medical or digital devices. Officials said the case is being treated as more than a nuisance because the alleged acts had immediate consequences for public safety and for the daily routines of people across Jasper.

The incident also underscored how much of Jasper depends on a relatively compact but interconnected electrical system. Jasper Municipal Utilities says the city is served by four substations, 16 distribution circuits and more than 80 miles of overhead and underground wire. The municipal electric utility was formed in 1904, its generation plant began operating in 1968 and was decommissioned in 2018, with power for the city now purchased through the Indiana Municipal Power Agency.

Utility officials say emergency problems can be reported around the clock by calling 812-482-9131. Streetlight outages may be reported through Jasper Electric Distribution at 812-482-1033, a reminder that even one person’s deliberate tampering can create citywide consequences in a matter of minutes.