Crews Restore Electricity to Parts of Seattle

SEATTLE — Utility crews restored service Saturday night to parts of a 50-block downtown section that had been without electricity since the middle of the week.

But Seattle City Light officials asked customers not to turn on their air conditioning immediately, out of fear of a surge of demand on one of the hottest days of the year. The temperature in Seattle hit 92 degrees, a record for the date, the National Weather Service said.

About half of the blacked-out area’s customers got electricity back when four cables feeding power to the area were reactivated at about 6:45 p.m., power company spokesman Jim Aguirre said.

All customers were expected to be back on line when two other feeder cables are repaired and in place today or Monday, Aguirre said. Restrictions on power use also were expected to end then, he said.

Since power was lost in a transformer fire Wednesday, the Red Cross has been serving meals to 150 to 250 elderly residents. Volunteers had to take some meals up 13 flights of stairs in buildings where elevators were inoperative.