A power outage is affecting thousands of people in Great Falls. The outage was reported just after 10 p.m. on Tuesday, June 14, 2022.
NorthWestern Energy confirmed the outage, saying that an estimated 2,657 customers are affected. A "customer" can refer to a household or apartment, meaning that the number of people without power is much higher than that. The utility company estimates that power will be fully restored by about 11:45 p.m.
At this point, there is no word on the cause of the outage, although we have received reports that a transformer blew near the CHS facility along 10th Avenue North near Malmstrom Air Force Base, which aligns with the NorthWestern Energy outage map. We also received a report from a person who saw utility crews in that area.
Some people reported a power "bump" at about 10:08 p.m, and several people reported that the flame that burns at the Calumet refinery seemed to be burning taller and "brighter" for a few minutes after that. However, we have received no reports of any fires or emergency situations related the outage.
NOTE: The power outage on Tuesday night knocked out the KRTV transmitter, taking us off the air. As of 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, engineers and electricians are still working to restore our broadcast. We apologize for the inconvenience.
REMEMBER - if traffic signals are not working at an intersection, all drivers should treat it as a four-way stop.
