More than 2,000 Duke Energy customers lost power on the west side of Spartanburg County Friday evening, with the outage centered near the intersection of Interstate 26 and Highway 29. The cause of the blackout remained unclear hours after it began, leaving thousands of households in the dark heading into the weekend.
The outage was first reported around 6:25 p.m. Friday, according to WSPA 7News, which said the cause remained unclear. The station reported that customers near Highway 29 and I-26 were the ones affected, placing the trouble squarely on the county's west side.
Customer counts varied across reports during the evening. WYFF reported 2,119 customers affected as of 8:05 p.m.; WSPA 7News reported approximately 2,391 by 10 p.m., when the utility's map also showed three active outages across the county.
Other Outlets Track Similar but Slightly Different Numbers
Other stations tracking the outage logged similar but not identical figures during the same stretch of Friday night. WYFF reported 2,119 customers affected near I-26 and Highway 29 as of 8:05 p.m., matching the early snapshot, while FOX Carolina put the count at 2,120 customers without power as of 9 p.m. and said it was working to confirm what triggered the outage. The slight variations reflect how outage maps update continuously rather than offering one fixed total, and none of the available reporting establishes a single confirmed final customer count.
Restoration estimates also varied by outlet. WSPA reported that power was estimated to be restored by 10 a.m. Saturday. WYFF, meanwhile, reported an estimated restoration window of 8 to 9 p.m.
Cause Remains Unclear
The cause remained unclear. Duke Energy's public outage map showed multiple active outages in Spartanburg County Friday night. Residents in the area faced shifting restoration estimates.
