Officials are working to restore power to more than 4,200 homes and businesses in the three counties tonight.
Frank Espinoza with AEP Texas told Action 4 News the outages are being blamed on utility pole fires across the Rio Grande Valley.
Action 4 News confirmed that utility pole fires have been reported in the San Benito, Harlingen, Donna and Weslaco areas on Thursday evening.
Fire crews were called to put out the fires.
Espinoza said the fires were caused by drought and windy conditions, which caused dust to build up inside equipment on the poles.
The AEP Texas spokesman said it moisture in the air from the cold front had caused the dust to “cake” and cause a fire.
As of 8:45 p.m. Thursday, there were 3,227 customers with power in Hidalgo County.
Another 453 customers were without power in Cameron County while 554 customers were without power in Starr County.
Temperatures are expected to dip into the 40s tonight across the Rio Grande Valley.
Espinoza said AEP Texas crews are working to restore power as fast as possible.
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