About 4,000 customers in East Austin were still without power as of just before 9 p.m. Wednesday, according to Austin Energy’s outage map.
That’s about 3,000 less than the 7,000 that the outage affected when it occurred shortly before 5 p.m. According to the outage map, the agency hopes to have power restored by 10 p.m.
Austin Energy spokesperson Matt Mitchell said two neighborhood cooling centers, those at the Parque Zaragoza Recreation Center and the Pan Am Recreation Center, will be open until 11 p.m. for those needing it. Information about city cooling center locations can be found here.
Austin Energy crews are working to find the cause of the East Austin outage, according to a 7:54 p.m. post on X from the city’s electric utility. The issue is local, not a statewide grid issue. The statewide electric grid is operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.
“We are working to find the source of the issue and are working to restore as many customers as possible as quickly as possible,” the post from the electric utility said.
The outages started shortly before 5 p.m., when the temperatures in the neighborhood reached 107 degrees, the hottest this year.
The estimated time of return was initially announced as 6:30 p.m., but has since been pushed back for many customers.
The areas primarily affected are east of Interstate 35 and as far west as Airport Boulevard, stretching as far south as South Lakeshore Boulevard and as far north as East 11th Street.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
