Colorado power outages: Thousands without power amid heavy snow
DENVER (KDVR) — Thousands of Coloradans are without power Thursday after heavy snow piled up across much of the state, causing multiple outages for multiple power companies.
Heavy snow caused powerlines to fall, and some lines were taken down by trees falling due to the heavy snow.
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In some cases, downed power lines even forced road closures.
Xcel Energy outages
By 1:45 p.m., Xcel reported 797 outages affecting over 43,000 customers, according to Xcel Energy’s outage map. A spokesperson for Xcel told FOX31 that the website was having technical issues and was not accurately showing the current outages earlier Thursday, but that issue has since been resolved.
Most of those outages were in the Denver metro area and foothills, but thousands of customers near Fort Collins, Greeley and Breckenridge were also affected.
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As for estimated restoration time, Xcel Energy said it is “assessing damage” for many of the outages and crews are actively working to restore power.
Customers can report outages and check for restoration updates on the Xcel Energy website.
Poudre Valley REA outages
Poudre Valley REA reported some outages affecting over 700 customers as of 11:45 a.m.. As snow continued, those numbers increased rapidly. Just before 1 p.m., about 2,200 customers were without power.
According to the outage map, those outages were concentrated near Niwot and Berthoud between Loveland, Longmont and Boulder.
PVREA posted on X just before noon saying crews were out working to restore outages.
“The heavy, wet snow & wind is causing the line to ‘bounce’, which results in power blinks,” PVREA posted. “Additionally, line is icing over, which can lead to extended outages.”
What to do if you see a down power line
There have been several reports of downed power lines in the metro area.
If you see a downed power line, Poudre Valley REA says to stay away, do not touch it, warn others and contact the power company or local emergency services.
“Any utility wire, including telephone or cable lines, could be in contact with an energized power line making them very dangerous,” the PVREA website reads.
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PVREA said any downed line should be treated as energized, adding that tree limbs and debris may hide an electrical hazard, and a downed power line can energize things around it.
If you are in a vehicle that has come in contact with a powerline, the safest place to be is inside the vehicle.
“While it may appear a power line has become de-energized and it is safe to exit the vehicle, the only way to know for sure is if a power utility company has confirmed the line has no electricity flowing through it,” the PVREA website reads.
PVREA says to stay put in the vehicle until crews confirm that there is no power in the line. If the line is energized and someone exists the vehicle improperly, PVREA said the person could create a path to the ground and electrocute themselves.
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