CHEYENNE -- Power began to flicker back on throughout Cheyenne at 2:13 p.m. after an extended citywide power outage this afternoon.

The Western Area Power Administration transmission line serving Cheyenne Light, Fuel & Power went down at approximately 12:50 p.m. today, according to Mark Stege, vice president of operations for Cheyenne Light.

At the request of WAPA, Cheyenne Light dispatched crews to the Archer substation, about 10 miles east of the city, to investigate the outage.

Stege said that the system-wide outage affected 36,000 of their 39,000 customers.

A media release said earlier in the day, Cheyenne Light also experienced sporadic outages around the city due to weather conditions and ice on the lines. Crews will continue working throughout the evening to monitor the situation.

Wilkerson said he didn't know if other parts of WAPA's coverage area were affected. WAPA, operated by the U.S. Dept. of Energy, delivers hydroelectric power to parts of Wyoming and 14 other Western states.

The power outage shut down much the city during Tuesday's lunch hour. Cheyenne police directed traffic through busy downtown intersections, and many businesses closed temporarily.