Safety concerns from water main break prompts Pacific Power to cut electrical service to parts of NE Portland

PORTLAND, Ore. — Working with city safety officials, Pacific Power has turned off electricity to parts of NE Portland centered around NE 24th Avenue and Skidmore Street. The length of the outage is unknown at this time as the service interruption is being coordinated with the city water and safety teams as they attempt to control the flood.

As of 4 p.m., about 10,000 customers are without power. Crews and equipment are being mobilized, but actual restoration will need to come after the flooding has been controlled. Due to the situation, power restoration will be very labor intensive and may take more time than a normal power outage.

More information will be coming to residents via direct phone calls in affected areas. Pacific Power’s outage map and its twitter account will post frequent updates. At this time the outage runs from NE 18th Avenue east to NE 47th Avenue and from NE Thompson north to Columbia Boulevard.

“We want to thank customers for their patience in this unusual situation as we work with the city,” said David Lucas, vice president of operations. “Safety has to come first. Flooding basements, many of which contain circuit breakers, is a major risk. We urge everyone to be cautious and we will return service as soon as we safely can.”