It's a chilly and dark start to the day for thousands of Manitoba Hydro customers in west Winnipeg.

A large power outage is affecting over 6,000 customers in the West End, Wolseley and Polo Park areas.

The outage reaches from Notre Dame Avenue to Westminster Avenue and from Wall Street to Maryland Street. 

A second outage is affecting the entire Polo Park area. 

Numerous traffic lights are also being affected. Motorists are encouraged to use blank lights as all-way stops. 

There is no word from Hydro as to what caused the outage. 

Hydro crews are working on fixing the problem. Power is expected to be restored around 11:00 a.m.