Power Outages Become More Inconvenient During Heat Wave

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah – The record heat across Utah can be a big inconvenience, especially when the power grid has interruptions. That’s exactly what happened Monday night for nearly 1,900 customers in Cottonwood Heights.

Rocky Mountain Power said most of those customers had their power restored just a couple of hours later, but 60 families spent a long, hot 20 hours not knowing when the air would kick back on.

“I came up the back steps and heard that humming and that was the best sound I’ve ever heard,” said Gore.

The air conditioning units have been working overtime at Christine Gore’s Cottonwood Heights home.

Her power went out at 6 p.m. Monday, on a day when temperatures were in the triple digits.

The next several hours were frustrating as Gore tried to get an estimate on when the power would be restored.

“They said 10:30, they said 11:30, they said 2:30,” she said.

Gore said she and her family would have booked a hotel room had they known the power would be out all night.

“For all outages, it’s an inconvenience to our customers, but especially in situations where there is severe weather, particularly with a heat wave, it’s really inconvenient,” said Tiffany Erickson, spokesperson for Rocky Mountain Power.

The Gore’s outage wasn’t triggered by the heat, but Rocky Mountain Power officials admitted it took longer to fix than they originally anticipated.

Erickson said there haven’t been any heat-related outages since the temperatures spiked, and relatively speaking, no more outages than usual. It’s just the weather makes things worse, faster.

The good news is Rocky Mountain Power said they are equipped to handle this heat wave.

“We don’t anticipate seeing any rolling brown outs or black outs,” said Erickson.

Erickson also said none of the outages, so far, have been due to heat.

“I can tell you we don’t have any overloaded circuits,” she said.

Rocky Mountain Power said there are ways to fight the heat in your house.

First, eliminate direct sunlight. Close the shades or blinds.

Second, don’t use major appliances and utilities during peak hours.

And third, when the temperature drops below 70-degrees at night, open the windows.

Also, if you are having trouble paying your power bill or need help with air conditioning, you can go to the Rocky Mountain Power website at www.rockymountainpower.net.