Utility workers aiming to restore power for Minnesotans after storms
Utility workers aiming to restore power for Minnesotans after storms
01:41
Xcel Energy said Monday that it had restored power to more than 85% of customers who lost electricity during Sunday night’s storms across Minnesota.
The severe weather brought wind gusts over 60 miles per hour, heavy rain, hail and lightning. Nearly 80,000 customers were impacted, with most outages concentrated in the Twin Cities metro area.
As of Monday afternoon, around 70,000 customers have had their power restored, Xcel says. More than 1,000 workers and contractors are now in the field, with more set to arrive by Tuesday morning.
Crews are prioritizing larger outages first, but the company says the high number of smaller, scattered outages means some customers may be without power longer than others.
In New Hope, Minnesota, Lenore Brodney says she was preparing for a two-day outage but was surprised to find her power restored just before midday Monday.
“Kids and I were watching TV, just having our usual evening night, and all of a sudden the power flashed and then went off,” Brodney said. “As soon as I got home, I got a bunch of notifications that my power was on … so I’m very lucky that it came on quickly.”
Xcel is also monitoring the possibility of more storms Monday night and is urging customers to stay away from any downed or sagging power lines. Anyone who sees a line down is asked to stay back and call 1-800-895-1999 to report it.
For real-time updates, customers can check the Xcel Energy outage map.