Electric operations at Topeka-based Westar Energy were not affected by power blackouts that hit big portions of the eastern United States and Canada.

Karla Olsen, a Westar spokeswoman, said Thursday that the electric utility, which serves the Lawrence area, was operating normally.

“We always have security measures in place and they’re in place now,” she said. “It is business as usual.”

Olsen said Westar’s power plants, which includes one north of Lawrence, were not part of the national grid that serves the areas in the eastern United States. She said Westar’s facilities were part of a regional grid that serves Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and several southwestern states.