EAST IDAHO BLACKOUT: Power restored after major outage
Published at | Updated at
UPDATE:
Rocky Mountain Power has confirmed that power restoration began at 6:20 p.m. It is being restored in sections, so customers will get power back at different times. At 6:45 p.m. power at EastIdahoNews.com was restored.
IMPORTANT:
Idaho Falls Power and Fall River Electric crews are asking everyone to turn off electronic devices — that means everything that is plugged into the wall and your lights, heat and air conditioning.
Crews are also asking people to turn off their water and irrigation systems, because they are losing water pressure.
City officials say this will help not overload the system, when power is eventually restored.
UPDATE:
All customers with Rocky Mountain Power, Idaho Falls Power, Fall River Electric and Lower Valley Energy are out.
Rocky Mountain Power officials confirm that 52,153 customers are without electricity.
“It’s an extensive power outage,” spokeswoman Margaret Oler said. “Pretty much all of Rocky Mountain Power customers are without power.”
Spokeswoman Kerry Hammon tells EastIdahoNews.com that there was a equipment failure at Goshen Substation in Shelley, which is causing the widespread outage. Officials have suggested a fire caused the outage at the station. However, Rocky Mountain Power officials would not confirm the cause.
“Goshen Substation is the main feed for the entire valley, and crews have identified the problem,” she said. “Now they are working on fixing it.”
We have reports of outages in Rigby, Rexburg, Basalt, Firth, Ammon, Idaho Falls, Shelley, Montpelier, Island Park, Ashton and Driggs, Victor, Swan Valley, Jackson and Star Valley, Wyoming, and West Yellowstone, Montana.
City officials caution all motorists to treat non-functioning traffic lights as four-way stops. Traffic is backed up all over Idaho Falls. Please use caution while driving.
There is no estimate on how long the power will be out.
ORIGINAL
IDAHO FALLS — A major power outage has left thousands of residents without electricity. Folks in Idaho Falls and Ammon are reporting they lost electricity around 4:45 p.m. It’s unclear what caused the outage.
“We are working on resolving the power outage at this point,” Kerry Hammon, a spokeswoman for the city of Idaho Falls, tells EastIdahoNews.com. “Please be patient and we will update you as soon as we know more.
EastIdahoNews.com will update this story with new information when we receive it.