Over 3,000 Medford, Malden customers briefly left without electricity after major power outage

BOSTON - Thousands of people were without power across Massachusetts Wednesday due to high temperatures. In Acton, 11,000 customers were without power when heat knocked out equipment at a power station.

Public works crews hooked up generators to power traffic lights to relieve police officers of traffic control as Eversource worked all night to get the power and cool air back on. As of 11 p.m. about 3,000 customers were still without power in Acton. 

A major power outage also hit Medford and Malden on Wednesday afternoon, temporarily leaving over 3,000 customers between the two towns without power.

According to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, roughly 800 customers were without power in Malden at 3 p.m. and 2,400 people were without power in Medford. By 4 p.m., the MEMA map showed power had been restored. 

National Grid said the outage struck the North Medford and Fulton Heights areas of Medford the hardest. 

While National Grid did not specify why the outage took place, they did warn residents Wednesday morning about the importance of lowering the stress of the electric grid with temperatures in the 90s across Massachusetts.

"Turn up your thermostat a couple of degrees, limit use of window or room air conditions, and use large electric appliances, like ovens and clothes dryers, between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m." National Grid said. "By making small, temporary changes to your energy use during the hottest days of the year, you can help reduce air pollution and lower stress on the electric grid -- which benefits your whole community."

Temperatures are expected to be in the mid-90s the rest of the week.

As of 11 p.m. Wednesday, more than 12,000 customers were still without power across the state.