Avista responding to dry weather conditions

Avista Utilities has announced a precautionary measure it plans to take in regard to power outages in its service areas.

The electric company announced Friday, Aug. 26, that temporary changes to power line operations are being made to decrease the potential for fires that could occur when re-energizing a power line. The change will send crews to physically patrol and restore a line rather than re-energizing lines automatically.

“It's everywhere within our Washington and Idaho service area,” said Debbie Simock, spokesperson at Avista. “But it is predominantly in our rural areas.”

The change may lead to longer outage times in the event of a power outage, and Simock said it is to reduce potential fire dangers in the current dry summer conditions.

“It's all dependent on the weather,” said Simock. “When we get some substantial rain and it starts to cool, we can go back.”

She also noted that there have been no fires caused by re-energizing a power line automatically.

“This is just precautionary,” she said.

In the event of a power outage, customers can go online to Avista's outage center to learn when the outage might be restored and possibly what caused it as well.

“All the outages reported are reflected in the outage center,” said Simock. “Any delay in restoration would be reflected in the outage estimated time.”

Saturday night and early Sunday morning, two power outages were reported in the southwest section of Pullman. Those outages were not affected by the new precautionary measures, as the area in Pullman is considered a more urban area.

“In urban areas, there's not a threat like there is in rural and forested areas,” said Simock.

http://www.avista utilities.com.