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SALT LAKE CITY — Electricity has been restored to most Rocky Mountain Power customers after multiple outages left thousands without power in the Salt Lake Valley Monday morning.
The company's website showed 95 outages affecting more than 22,000 customers around 7 a.m., up from over 6,000 earlier in the morning. By 10:15 a.m., the website showed 72 outages affecting 439 customers, most in the Salt Lake City area.
Rocky Mountain Power told said the Salt Lake City outage was caused by multiple mylar balloons that were blown into a power substation on 500 West. They believe the balloons were from a private celebration over the weekend.
Mylar balloons have a metallic coating that can melt onto power lines, causing more disruption than other latex balloons.
Smaller outages were also reported in West Valley City, Cottonwood Heights, Holladay and Taylorsville.
We know of a power outage in SLC, affecting approximately 6,495 customers. We have dispatched crews to investigate and make repairs and are working to restore service as quickly as possible. To report your power out, please visit https://t.co/uEpATqo5lR or text "OUT" to 759677. pic.twitter.com/GrXxeNAM0y
— Rocky Mountain Power UT (@RMP_Utah) November 7, 2022
The outages came as the valley braced for another winter storm, with snow likely in the mountains as early as Monday afternoon and expected to continue into Thursday. Wind gusts up to 65 mph are possible across western Utah in Iron, Beaver, Millard, Juab and Tooele counties on Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
The Salt Lake Valley could experience gusts up to 55 mph on Monday. The strongest winds were expected between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. on Monday.
The Utah Avalanche Center also warned of considerable avalanche risk for the Salt Lake Area Mountains on steep slopes at higher elevations. There is a moderate risk at elevations below 9,000 feet, the center warns.
🚨🚨 We are aware of multiple power outages in our city. @RMP_Utah is working to restore service ASAP. If you come across an intersection with the 🚦 out, treat that as a 4-way stop 🛑. Be aware of debris in the road 🍃💨. Slow down & drive safe. #slc#slcpd#saltlakecity#utwxpic.twitter.com/3T6nMVixLv
— Salt Lake City Police (@slcpd) November 7, 2022
Nearly 9,000 customers were without power near 9000 South and 1000 West in West Jordan at 7:30 a.m., with outages reported between 7500 South and 10000 South on either side of I-15, according to Rocky Mountain Power's website.
Rocky Mountain Power said the outage at 9000 South was likely caused by strong wind gusts that damaged a substation in the area.
More than 6,000 customers are impacted in Salt Lake City, with the bulk of the outages located between 600 North and University Boulevard around 400 West.
Crews are working to restore power to all customers, and the company estimates most power will be restored by 4 p.m. or earlier on Monday.
The power was out at West High School, Mary W. Jackson Elementary and the Salt Lake Center for Science Education, according to the Salt Lake City School District's website. The district says the schools are open and will start at their normal times on Monday morning.
Utah Transit Authority reported several FrontRunner stations affected:
- SLC and North Temple
- Green Line-Central to Airport
- Blue Line-Meadowbrook to SLC
- Red Line-Meadowbrook to Courthouse
This story will be updated.
