HELENA — A major power outage affected at least 12,000 customers throughout Montana’s capital city Thursday, darkening traffic signals and public buildings. Crews worked quickly to restore electricity.
The outage in Helena began at 11:50 a.m. Thursday. It left many areas of the city of 32,000, along with neighboring East Helena, without power.
Northwestern Energy spokesman Jo Dee Black said a “transmission issue” was responsible.
“The priority is to get power restored right away, and then they’ll do an assessment and make repairs that are necessary,” Black said.
The outage temporarily closed public libraries and postponed a noon women’s basketball game between Helena’s Carroll College and the College of Idaho. A loud cheer came from about 2,200 elementary school students attending the “field trip game” when the power was restored about an hour after it went off.