Avista starts unplanned rolling blackouts due to strain on electrical system caused by heatwave

UPDATE: JUNE 28 AT 4:50 PM

Due to a strain on the electrical system, Avista said they have shut off power temporarily to customers.

The strain on the electrical system is coming from the extreme heat the Inland Northwest is seeing. 

Avista said they are required to reduce the electric load on the system when certain system thresholds are met.

"We understand the inconvenience of these unplanned outages, particularly without advance notice and the hot temperatures. We are working to identify and communicate with those customers who may experience brief outages due to the heat in the future," Avista wrote. 

At peak black out, over 8,000 customers were without power. As of 4:50 p.m., around 6,442 customers are without power. 

UPDATE: JUNE 28 at 4:05pm

Avista has officially cited weather as the reason for most of these outages. 

As of the time writing this article, Avista says 8,036 customers are without power. You can check their outage map by clicking here.

Estimated times of restoration of these major outages range from 4:30pm to 6:00pm, with some of the smaller outages affecting fewer customers estimated around 8:00pm. That is subject to change. We will continue to update this article with more information.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE

Avista outages are growing.

According to the Avista outage map, 8,191 customers are without power in north Spokane. 

A list of cooling centers can be found here. 

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

SPOKANE, Wash. - As high temperatures continues to rise, over 4,800 Avista  customers are without power. 

According to the Avista outage map, 4,882 customers in north Spokane do not have power Monday afternoon. 

The outage map says the cause of the outages are under investigation. 

Earlier Monday, the electricity company asked customers to conserve energy due to the energy system being strained.