April 14, 2007 News Media Release

Storm Leaves 15,000 Without Power

Last night's storm with high winds and lightning caused widespread minor outages across Austin affecting in excess of 15,000 customers with repairs necessary at as many as 120 different locations.

Some 14 Austin Energy crews worked throughout the night. By morning, power had been restored to all customers experiencing over night outages.

The largest outage from the storm occurred in the east Austin/Riverside area where about 9,000 customers were without power for about an hour and a half. The outage began about 9:30 p.m. Power was restored to all customers by just before 11:00 p.m.

Many of the outages were due to blown fuses. All electric equipment and power lines are protected by fuses. Lightning strikes can cause power surges which cause fuses to blow to protect equipment and lines from damage.

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For more information, contact Ed Clark, Public Information.
Phone: (512) 322-6514
Pager: (512) 802-2000