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.
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.
A 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.
