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August 14, 2020 • EPE Related News

Power restored for thousands of El Pasoans amid 3rd day of record-breaking high temps

KTSM NewsChannel 9 News Online: https://www.ktsm.com/local/el-paso-news/power-outage-affecting-customers-throughout-el-paso/

UPDATE: High temperatures causes outages affecting customers throughout El Paso

EL PASO NEWS

UPDATE: EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — El Paso Electric officials said sustained high temperatures and very high load conditions triggered a system imbalance, causing outages across the city Thursday afternoon.

Crews restored power to affected customers by 5:40 p.m.

According to a statement from El Paso Electric, sustained hot weather does not allow for infrastructure to properly cool down overnight, causing it to overheat and damage electrical equipment.

Earlier:

A power outage is affecting thousands of customers throughout El Paso.

El Paso Electric officials said crews are aware of the outages and there is no need for customers to report the incident.

EPE said crews will be working throughout the service area to address each outage as quickly and safely as possible.

You can check to see if power is out in your area by clicking here.

 

KVIA ABC7 News Online: https://kvia.com/weather/weather-news/2020/08/13/thousands-of-el-paso-power-outages-amid-3rd-day-of-record-breaking-high-temps/

Power restored for thousands of El Pasoans amid 3rd day of record-breaking high temps

August 13, 2020 5:46 pm
Published  3:23 pm

EL PASO, Texas -- El Paso shattered the record high temperature on Thursday for a third-straight day amid an unusual August heat wave that saw as many as 9,000 homes and businesses lose electricity at one point.

El Paso Electric said crews on Thursday afternoon were dispatched to locate issues and get the power back on as quickly as possible in parts of west, northeast and east El Paso - which is where the bulk of the outages were concentrated.

As of 5:40 p.m., the utility said electrical service had been restored to most everyone. EPE said it appreciated customers being patient as crews worked in the extreme heat to get service back and up running.

A utility spokesman indicated that "sustained high temperatures experienced over the last several days and very high load conditions triggered a system imbalance."

"Sustained hot weather does not allow for infrastructure to cool down properly overnight, causing it to overheat and damage electrical equipment," EPE's Javier Camacho explained.

At the El Paso International Airport Thursday afternoon, the high temperature officially reached 106 degrees, surpassing the record of 102 for the date set back in 2010.

ABC-7 Chief Meteorologist 'Doppler Dave' Speelman said triple-digit temperatures typically end come the start of August, but such hasn't been the case this week.

On Wednesday, a new record high of 107 was hit, beating the old record of 102 in 2016. And on Tuesday, El Paso had reached 106 degrees to top the old 105 degree record from 1993.

'Doppler Dave' said the all-time hottest temperature recorded in August was 108 back in 1980.

Heat Advisory for the El Paso area remains in effect through Friday and the city is operating cooling centers for residents to escape the heat.

The National Weather Service recommends drinking plenty of fluids, staying out of the sun and wearing lightweight and loose fitting clothing to avoid the risk of heat-related illnesses.

For current weather conditions and the latest forecast, visit kvia.com/weather.

 

KFOX 14 News Online: https://cbs4local.com/news/local/more-than-8000-power-outages-reported-throughout-el-paso

Power restored to thousands of El Paso Electric customers on triple-digit heat day


Around 3 p.m. there were about 8,500 customers affected, but as of 3:45 p.m. the outage has impacted more than 13,200 customers.

Most of the outages were reported in east and far east El Paso County.

Temperatures in El Paso are 106 degrees Thursday afternoon.

El Paso Electric officials provided the statement below:

El Paso Electric (EPE) crews worked to safely restore power to all impacted customers this afternoon.
Sustained high temperatures experienced over the last several days and very high load conditions triggered a system imbalance at approximately 3 p.m. By 5:40 p.m., EPE crews safely restored power to customers impacted by this system imbalance.
Sustained hot weather does not allow for infrastructure to cool down properly overnight, causing it to overheat and damage electrical equipment. As these outages occur, EPE has additional resources available 24/7 to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. Crews will not stop working until power is restored to all customers.
We appreciate our customers’ patience as EPE crews worked very hard in this extreme weather to restore power as safely as possible.

In west El Paso near Resler and Belvidere, there were about 2,625 customers without power. Around 3:30 p.m. the outage map showed that electricity was restored.

In east El Paso near McRae Boulevard, 2,852 customers don't have power as of 5:37 p.m. power was restored.

In the Lower Valley near Pendale and Zaragoza Road, 3,914 customers don't have power but as of 5:37 p.m. power was restored.

Nearby, 1,180 customers in the Ascarate Park and 1,037 customers in the N. Carolina area lost power but as of 5:37 p.m. power was restored

In far east El Paso County there are 7,327 customers affected - Sparks, Horizon City and the area near Eastlake and Pellicano are impacted but as of 5:37 p.m. power was restored.

We will update this news article one more information becomes available.

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