Multiple power outages occurred Wednesday in the Empire Electric Association service area because of the heavy snowfall.
About 836 customers are without power, or 5% of the service area as of noon, said Andy Carter, member engagement manager for Empire. About 1,700 customers were without power earlier in the morning, and those lines have been repaired.
Heavy wet snow on power lines is the main culprit, Carter said. Tree branches breaking from snow into the lines is also a cause.
Utility crews are out repairing the lines to restore power.
“They are working on it as fast as they can,” Carter said. “We don’t anticipate long-term outages. There is a lot of small outages in lots of different places.”
Power losses have occurred in Cortez, along U.S. Highway 491 north of Cortez, in Dolores, along Colorado Highway 145, along U.S. Highway 160 and in the Mancos area.
Empire Electric keeps an updated outage map on its website https://ebill.eea.coop/maps/OutageWebMap/.
Updates are also reported on the Facebook page.
To receive text notifications about outages, make sure you have SmartHub downloaded on your phone and select your notification preferences. https://eea.smarthub.coop/Login.html.
Report outages to 970-565-4444 or (800) 709-3726. Learn more about outages on the Empire Electric website.
jmimiaga@the-journal.com
