BILLINGS – The outage was caused when a squirrel entered a substation box on King Avenue, according to Jo Dee Black of NorthWestern Energy.
Black said the utility was able to reset the system. Power was restored at 1:42 p.m. for a roughly 90-minute outage.
UPDATE: Northwestern Energy has updated the widespread outage on the west end of Billings. 7600 customers are affected. Crews are working to restore this outage as soon as possible. The estimated time for restoration is 2:30pm. The Northwestern Energy Facebook page says your patience is appreciated.
A major power outage is being reported on the west end of Billings.
According to the Northwestern Energy outage map, nearly 3,000 are without power in an area stretching west of 24th St W.
Multiple people are reporting outages as far west as Shiloh Crossing, and others are reporting outages at major retailers in the area.
The cause of the outage has not been released.
This story will be updated.
