12/11/21 -UPDATE 1:20 PM
We were down to only 35 members left to go but a snowplow hit some #LPEA equipment causing an outage to 800+ in Forest Lakes. Crews were already on-site working on another outage and are now working to replace the damaged equipment. http://outage.lpea.coop/
12/11/21 - UPDATE 10:30 AM
We currently have 8 outages impacting 35 members and are exploring reports of a downed line for the 21-member outage in Bayfield. http://outage.lpea.coop/
12/11/21 - UPDATE 7:30 AM
We currently have 20 outages impacting 156 members. The bulk of the remaining outages are in the Bayfield area. We still cannot give an estimate on when power will be restored for the remaining outages but crews and contractors have been out overnight and are still out working to get everyone back up. We appreciate your continued patience. http://outage.lpea.coop/
12/10/21 - UPDATE 6:00 PM
We currently have 96 outages impacting 2,296 members. With night falling and temperatures dropping, we understand you may be anxious and concerned about when your power will be restored. While we are not able to give estimated restoration times for the reasons listed below, we can tell you that all LPEA crews, our contractors, and a crew from San Luis Valley will be working until all power is restored. While restoration times are slower than usual, crews ARE making progress. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
12/10/21 - UPDATE 12:30 PM
Since around 10 p.m. on Thursday, December 9, we’ve been experiencing widespread outages throughout LPEA’s service territory. We immediately dispatched 100% of our crews, and they worked through the night to restore as many outages as possible.
On Friday, December 10, as the winds picked up and temperatures rose, snow began dropping from our power lines, causing lines to slap together and open, stopping the flow of electricity (similar to how breakers work in your home). The heavy and wet snow also broke tree limbs and power poles, which caused additional outages.
This storm was more widespread than we usually experience, equally hitting all 3,531 square miles of our service territory. That means 2,000 miles of line are experiencing line slapping and limbs and poles breaking. At our peak, we had 114 outages impacting more than 10,000 members.
It also takes longer to restore outages in snowy conditions. Water is a conductor, so crews must take extra safety precautions to keep themselves and the public safe.
Until all the snow is off the lines, they will continue to slap together and cause outages. LPEA crews try to remove snow before re-energizing, but it can still freeze, causing power to go out again. If your power has come on for a short period of time and then gone back off, this may be the cause.
For those of you without power, we know you want information on WHEN your power will be restored. Unfortunately, it is impossible to give a time of restoration because crews don't know the issue until they arrive at each outage location and restoration times vary widely depending on the cause (e.g. a limb on the line vs. a broken power pole vs. an open circuit from lines slapping together). As a general rule of thumb, we start with the biggest outages and work our way down to individual homes. We also prioritize issues that pose a risk to public safety, such as downed lines and car hit poles and equipment. More details on our restoration practices are in the graphic below.
We want to thank you for your patience while our crews work to restore your power as quickly as is safely possible. The good news is, LPEA crews are at 100% capacity, and together with contractors they are working 24/7 in two shifts until everyone’s power is restored.
For the latest updates on outage locations, visit http://outage.lpea.coop/
For more outage resources, visit https://lpea.coop/outage-center
