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Power outages continue following storm with heavy, dense snow

Posted at 12:24 PM, Jan 01, 2023
and last updated 2023-01-03 00:27:52-05

SALT LAKE CITY — Widespread power outages continued Monday following a storm that brought heavy snow across Utah on New Year's Day.

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As of Monday night around 9:45 p.m., approximately 1,500 Rocky Mountain Power customers were without service, with most situated in the Salt Lake Valley.

That number gradually decreased since reaching nearly 14,000 customers Sunday morning.

According to a Rocky Mountain Power official, the outages were due to the snow causing downed power lines and issues with trees.

Leaders with the company said repair crews from southwestern Idaho, Cedar City, Richfield and Price traveled to the Salt Lake Valley to assist with restoration efforts.

In total, 147 field and support personnel are working on restoring service to impacted customers.

"Because of widely scattered locations of damage to neighborhood poles and lines, the work is labor-intensive," Rocky Mountain Power said in a statement. "Each repair at this stage may restore service to just 100 or dozens of customers. As crews work their way through the network, some damage may be affecting only one or a handful of customers. Areas particularly impacted are in east bench areas of the Salt Lake Valley."

It's not known when power will be restored to the affected areas, but the company said customers should be prepared to be without it through Sunday night, particularly those in the east bench locations in the Salt Lake Valley.

Despite the challenge of the weather, officials expect the majority of customers to have their power restored by 10 p.m. Monday.

"We appreciate your patience as we work to restore your power as soon as possible," the company tweeted.

RMP customers can report outages or check the status on the company's website.