Heat, demand kill power for roughly 10K in Kansas City metro amid soaring temperatures
A blown transformer caused roughly 10,500 Kansas City area residents to lose power Monday as the region is experiencing a dangerous heat wave that could bring more outages if other equipment fails under the stress, an Evergy spokeswoman said Monday.
Gina Penzig, a spokeswoman for Evergy, said its work crews were called out to fix the issue and that power had been restored to 4,000 of those affected by 6 p.m. She said that the high heat and high energy demand is a strain that could lead to more needed repairs.
Kansas City is under a heat warning as the outdoors could feel like triple digits. Temperatures were expected to reach a high of 99 degrees Monday, followed by 97 degrees Tuesday and 95 degrees Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Evergy, the chief supplier of energy for Kansas City, announced last week that preparations were being made in anticipation of what’s expected to be a hot summer. The company has said it has invested in the power grid, prioritized emergency reserves for critical inventory and is providing seasonal maintenance work on its power plants.
The Star’s Anna Spoerre contributed to this report.
