EPCOR ends rolling power blackouts in Edmonton

Power was fully restored in Edmonton late Tuesday afternoon after the province's electricial operator lifted a directive that forced EPCOR to start rolling blackouts across the city.

The blackouts, whichaffected five areas in the city, started around 4:30 p.m after the current heatwave pushed electricity demands past last summer's record of 9,885 megawatts.

The Alberta Electrical Systems Operator (AESO) said that several generatorswere offline for planned and unplanned maintenance.A transformer near Edmonton also went out of service.

AESO told power distributors not to reduce electricity to areas affected by flooding.

Traffic lights were out atseveralEdmonton intersections including 111th Avenue and 118th Street, 111th Avenue and 97th Street and 66th Street and 144th Avenue.

Edmonton Police advised drivers to treat each intersection as a four-way stop.

A rare humidex advisory was issued for Edmonton on Tuesday. At 5:30 p.m., the temperature was 34C with humidity making it feel like 44.