AUSTIN (KXAN) — Thousands of people lost power Thursday night after a transformer at a southwest Austin substation went offline around 8:20 p.m., according to Austin Energy. The utility said Friday morning it is working on a repair.
Utility leaders will hold a press conference at 10 a.m. Friday to provide more information about the outages. That will be livestreamed at the top of this article and on the KXAN Facebook page.
Austin Energy said about 6,400 people lost power when the transformer went offline Thursday night, and crews immediately responded and rerouted power to other equipment, restoring power to all those affected.
That fix, however, was temporary, an Austin Energy spokesperson said. Crews have been working through the night to investigate the issue and find a permanent solution, according to Austin Energy.
Austin Energy said the hot temperatures expected Friday could overload the equipment used for the temporary fix because of the additional power demand, which may cause more outages for the customers in the area.
Long-term fix
Austin Energy said it is testing the existing transformer to see if it can be put back into service, and if test results are favorable, that equipment could be back in service Friday afternoon to lower the risk of outages.
While testing is going on, Austin Energy is positioning a temporary transformer to serve customers. That work could take 24 hours, and those customers may experience outages Friday.
Heat-related outages
Similar outages happened in east Austin Wednesday, which was the hottest day of the year so far.
Austin Energy estimated the outage Wednesday impacted roughly 7,000 people. It started around 5 p.m. and lasted until around 9 p.m. Austin Energy said a sensor caused the outage, likely because of a high load due to high heat and people working to cool their homes.
“Each substation is equipped with protective systems — and they work similar to how you would have one in your house, a fuse, a breaker box, something along those lines — when too much current is being pulled into a piece of equipment, those sensors are designed to take that offline so that it doesn’t cause catastrophic damage and that’s what happened in this substation,” Matt Mitchell with Austin Energy explained.
Mitchell said Austin Energy’s substation team and engineers worked to reset the sensors to accommodate a higher energy load while still operating safely, and the utility doesn’t anticipate the issue happening again at that substation.
Be ready and conserve
Austin Energy said customers in the southwest Austin area should be prepared for potential power outages.
The utility recommended that people in the area review emergency plans and check emergency kits. Customers who experience outages can minimize power surges by turning off appliances, lights and other equipment.
Cooling center locations and hours of operation can be found online.
Austin Energy is also asking customers to conserve energy. People should aim to use as little energy as safely possible, specially between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Austin Energy said.
Energy conservation tips:
- Raise thermostats by a few degrees.
- For central air, do not close vents in unused rooms. This could increase pressure and cause duct leaks.
- For window units, close off unused rooms.
- Close shades and curtains on windows hit by direct sunlight to prevent heat from getting indoors.
- Avoid turning on the oven during the hottest time of the day.
- Unplug appliances, chargers and electronic devices when not in use. They use energy even when they are turned off.
Find more conservation tips are available on Austin Energy’s website.
Austin Energy said it will work to keep affected customers updated as new information is available. Utility leaders will also hold a press conference at 10 a.m. Friday to provide more information about the outages. That will be livestreamed at the top of this article and on the KXAN Facebook page.