Austin Energy cut power to some on Saturday

Austin Energy is building a new substation to accommodate the growth in energy use in Austin, particularly in South Austin. In the meantime, a utility spokesperson told the Austin Monitor, “Due to Saturday’s heat-related demand surge and ongoing construction on a new substation, Austin Energy took emergency action to cut power to about 3,600 customers in South Austin. The circuits serving this area were experiencing high energy use and this action was taken to address that overload. These actions were not the result of an ERCOT mandate, but instead were necessary to safely operate Austin Energy’s distribution system. Austin Energy restored service to affected customers through the early evening and all service was back online by approximately 7:30 p.m. Saturday.” The new Bluff Springs transmission station is scheduled to go online around June 10. The spokesperson explained, “We have rerouted circuits and do not expect to see additional outages in that area due to these issues. We took this action Saturday in order to avoid a larger outage and ensure greater reliability as we enter summer.”