Spokane utility customers receive gift cards after long power outage

SPOKANE — Avista customers who were left without power on Thanksgiving in the wake of a massive windstorm more than a week earlier have received an apology and a gift card.

KREM-TV reports that the utility sent out a blast of phone calls and emails Wednesday and Thursday to 3,000 customers, many of whom were left without power over the holiday. Affected customers will be receiving a $150 gift cards to Rosauers Supermarkets.

At the height of the outage after the Nov. 17 windstorm, about 180,000 customers in the Spokane area were without power. Avista officials say that was about half of the power company’s customers.