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Heat causes power problems for various reasons

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Thousands of people were without power in Clark County due to an equipment failure for a relatively short period of time Tuesday afternoon.

Around 3:20 p.m. nearly 25,000 Clark County PUD customers had no power. By 3:30 p.m., the outages were done to about 13,000. But by 3:40 p.m., only 37 customers were without power.

An insulator stack fell on a power line that caused the outage, Clark County PUD officials said. But crews were able to handle the issue and quickly restored power.

Andrea Platt with PGE said the company learned from last year and is staying prepared for this heat wave. Last year, PGE set a record — 4340 megawatts, about 1000 megawatts more than a typical year.

Even with the expected extra strain, Platt said they have contingencies in place for that.

PGE said there are tips people should know to help prevent outages. Little shifts, like closing your blinds or window coverings, will help, as will closing your blinds while your AC unit is running. That will help the AC run more efficiently.

And raising your thermostat to 76 degrees can helps save the average customer about $13 on their monthly bill.

The heat also has an effect on mass transit in the region.

The extreme heat can cause wires to sag, forcing MAX trains and the Portland Streetcar to either go much slower or halt the route.

In fact, the A Loop of the Portland Streetcar was halted through Tuesday due to power issues.

Minor delays may happen on the Green and Orange lines when the temperature exceeds 90 degrees. All MAX lines will slow in high speed areas when temperatures climb past 100 degrees.

On Tuesday, TriMet officials said that because of the extreme heat emergency declarations, TriMet will not turn away anyone riding to and from a cooling shelter who cannot pay fare. TriMet asks riders to let their bus operator know that they are headed to or from a cooling center.

Officials also said, “WES will slow down at 100 degrees and be replaced by shuttle buses at 105 degrees during extreme heat. These are requirements of Portland & Western Railroad, which owns and operates the tracks where WES runs. Riders can expect 20-minute delays when trains are slowed.”

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