Power outage in west Edmonton over after more than 24 hours amid heat wave

A southwest Edmonton power outage that affected some neighbourhoods for more than 24 hours ended Friday morning.

Several neighbourhoods were impacted starting at 8:17 a.m. on Thursday. The outage, which affected about 1,200 customers, stretched until around 9:30 a.m. on Friday.

"The electrical system is designed to handle a wide variety of conditions; however, consecutive days of sustained high temperatures combined with increased power use can make it difficult for equipment to cool down and can affect its performance," an Epcor spokesperson told CTV News Edmonton in a statement after the outage ended.

"Customers in some areas of southwest Edmonton experienced power outages due to cable faults that occurred on multiple feeders as well as the need to protect electrical infrastructure and prevent the risk of larger outages."

Epcor is asking Edmontonians to use less electricity to reduce demand on the system, such as:

Minimize the use of high-energy appliances during the hottest parts of the day and evening

Opt for a time later at night for dishwashing, laundry and EV charging

Use cold water for laundry

Use fans to circulate cold air to help reduce air conditioner use

Close blinds and window coverings during the hottest times of the day

Prepare meals with barbecues, microwaves, crockpots or toaster ovens

For more information on how to conserve power or outages, visit the Epcor website.