Power Restored To 3,000 Household In Saratoga Springs
Jul 12, 2021, 7:02 PM | Updated: 8:42 pm
SARATOGA SPRINGS, Utah – Crews restored power throughout the day to thousands of households in the Harvest Hills neighborhood that had been without service for much of the morning.
“The Saratoga Springs outage is caused by some underground equipment problems,” said David Eskelsen with Rocky Mountain Power.
The lights went dark around 4 a.m. Monday for more than 3,200 power customers in Saratoga Springs, according to Rocky Mountain Power’s online outage map. By 11 a.m., the number of customers without power dropped to around 1,600.
With the problem being underground, it took some time to find and troubleshoot the issue.
“We have located and fixed some problems, but then, when we take the circuit back in service, we find a new problem,” Eskelsen said around 12:30 p.m. on Monday. “So they’re dealing with two or three of those things right now.”
The McMillan family was one of the thousands to wake up with no power.
“It’s crazy hot and we can’t get into the garage,” said Magan McMillan.
Without power, McMillan couldn’t open the detached garage to access their car and the child seats inside.
“First, they told us 9 o’clock that it would turn back on, and then 12 o’clock, so we came back and it’s still not on,” she said just minutes before the power returned at her condominium complex around 12:45 p.m.
By early afternoon, the lights and air-conditioning were back on for most customers in the affected area, and by 4 p.m., all customers had power restored.
“It’s been crazy,” said Julie London, who lives in the same complex in the Harvest Hills neighborhood.
London also had a difficult time opening her detached garage, but finally found the key and was able to open the rolling door, just as the power turned back on.
“I’m really happy that it’s on now,” she said. “I was very frustrated a few minutes ago.”
During the heatwave, Eskelsen said Rocky Mountain Power’s system has enough electricity.
“There’s a tremendous amount of energy flowing through the electric system,” he explained, “and all of the components in the summertime work their hardest.”
Customers can help reduce strain on the system by adjusting their thermostat to 78 degrees and waiting to use large appliances until nighttime.
“It’s all about how the temperature affects customer demand,” Eskelsen said. “The summertime is when customers use the most energy of any time of the year, and it’s mostly for space cooling.”
If you find your home without power, report it. Eskelsen said they don’t have the capability to monitor service to every house.
“We don’t have a blinking light for every house beyond the substation and into the neighborhoods,” he said. “A call from our customers helps us locate and dispatch crews in the most efficient way.”
In June, Eskelsen told KSL-TV that Rocky Mountain Power prepares all year for extreme summer weather by maintaining or expanding generation and transmission systems. The company also focuses on forecasting peak demand and having reserve power available.
