Power was restored through a “temporary solution” to thousands of Austin Energy customers who saw outages Thursday night, the second consecutive day that thousands lost power amid record-high temperatures.
About 6,400 customers lost power shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday after a transformer at a Southwest Austin substation went offline, the city of Austin said in a news release.
“The hot temperatures expected (Friday) could overload that equipment because of the additional power demand and could cause more outages for the customers in this area,” the news release stated.
The outages primarily affected customers in an area of Southwest Austin near Southwest Parkway and Barton Creek Boulevard, Austin Energy’s outage map showed.
“All affected customers have been switched to other circuits and currently have power,” Austin Energy said in a post on the social platform X at 2 a.m. Friday. “This is a temporary solution. Austin Energy’s work will continue as we seek to make necessary fixes to provide a permanent solution.”
Customers in the Southwest Austin area should be prepared for potential power outages, the electric utility said.
The utility said the outages — like the Wednesday outages, which affected more than 7,000 customers — were “local” and not related to the statewide electric grid. The grid is operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.
Temperatures were as high as 107 degrees in Austin on Thursday, breaking a record high for the date at Austin Camp Mabry, according to the National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio. Temperatures reached 109 degrees on Wednesday, the weather service said.
Austin Energy shares tips to prepare for outages amid ongoing heat
Austin Energy advised customers to review emergency plans and check emergency kits. Customers who experience outages can minimize power surges by turning off appliances, lights and other equipment.
Find cooling center locations and hours of operation at austintexas.gov/alerts.
Austin Energy advised customers to use as little energy as is safely possible, especially between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
These are among the utility’s tips for staying cool while saving energy during the summer:
- Raise your thermostat by a few degrees. Aim for 78 degrees or higher for the biggest energy savings. Set your thermostat to 85 degrees when you are away for two hours or more on a hot day.
- Point fans in your direction to make temperatures around you feel about 4 degrees cooler. In the summer, switch ceiling fans to run counterclockwise to push cool air downward. Only keep fans on when you are in the room.
- Close shades and curtains on windows hit by direct sunlight to prevent heat from getting indoors.
- Provide shade for outside AC units. AC units shaded by trees or other means work more efficiently and use up to 10% less electricity.
- Provide shade for outside AC units. AC units shaded by trees or other means work more efficiently and use up to 10% less electricity.
Read More: Power restored to thousands in Austin after second day of outages