BILLINGS — A weekend power outage that left about 500 customers in Billings' Annafeld subdivision without electricity during dangerous triple-digit heat was caused by a fuse failure during a period of high electrical demand, NorthWestern Energy Public Relations Specialist Jo Dee Black.
The outage affected the densely populated southwest Billings neighborhood at about 4:20 p.m. Saturday as eastern Montana endured a record-breaking heat wave. Power was not restored until shortly after 10 p.m., leaving hundreds of homes without electricity and many without air conditioning for roughly six hours.
The Annafeld subdivision is served by a substation supplied by two underground distribution feeds. According to Black, Saturday's outage was caused by the failure of a fuse during a period of high electrical demand.
After the outage, crews reconfigured distribution equipment to better balance the electrical load between the two underground feeds serving the area before restoring power.
Black that system adjustments helped keep electric service reliable through Sunday's record-breaking heat, when Billings reached 111 degrees.
NorthWestern Energy had initially attributed the outage to a different cause. When asked about the outage Saturday night, NorthWestern Energy Director of Customer Communications Brandy Powers told MTN News in an email that "there was a car accident about 4:45 p.m. that damaged a power pole."
"Due to the location, the pole needed to be replaced before power could be restored," Powers wrote. "Crews worked to restore power as quickly as possible, safely."
Before the company issued its corrected explanation, MTN News repeatedly asked Powers about a conflicting account from an Annafeld resident, who said a NorthWestern Energy worker told them the neighborhood's electrical system was overloaded and crews were working to shift customers between electrical feeds to balance demand.
MTN News also questioned how a crash reported at about 4:45 p.m. could have caused an outage that multiple residents said began around 4:20 p.m.
Despite those questions, Powers reaffirmed the company's original explanation in a follow-up email, writing, "The outage was indeed due to the accident."
When asked about the conflicting information, NorthWestern Energy provided a statement Wednesday:
"NorthWestern Energy provided information about an outage in the Billings area that occurred on the afternoon of July 10, caused by a vehicle striking a power pole, when responding to a Q2 reporter's inquiry about a separate outage that affected customers in the Billlings Annafeld Subdivision on the afternoon of July 11.
"We regret the confusion and apologize for providing information about the wrong event.
"The most up-to-date outage information is available through NorthWestern Energy's online outage map at https://www.northwesternenergy.com/outages/outage-map [northwesternenergy.com]
"NorthWestern Energy customers can also receive personalized outage notifications and other important updates by signing up for text and email alerts through https://www.northwesternenergy.com/create-manage-account/notifications [northwesternenergy.com] "
