AUSTIN, Texas — Thousands of Central Texas residents are experiencing power outages Friday morning.
Austin Energy reported outages affecting 7,071 customers at 9:41 a.m., mostly in south and southeast Austin.
CBS Austin Meteorologist Avery Tomasco explained that the recent drought has caused a buildup of dust and pollen on power line insulators. When combined with Friday morning’s drizzle and mist, this creates an electrically conductive slurry that can cause electrical shorts and fires…