Utahns could experience power outages this weekend because of hot weather

SALT LAKE CITY — Rocky Mountain Power is bracing for what could be a huge weekend of outages across the state, particularly in central and southern Utah.

There are two kinds of outages that could affect customers from the Wasatch Front down to southern Utah, because of red flag warnings and wind gusts. With extreme wildfire risk, RMP officials said Thursday they could proactively cut power to lines in areas anywhere from Cedar City to Richfield in order to prevent wildfires.

Spokesperson Tiffany Erickson said they are also putting their systems into “wildfire settings,” where if a tree branch hits a line or winds knocks lines together, they shut off automatically in a tenth of a second.

Because of that possibility, they are sending extra crews from northern Utah to be ready to assess situations on-the-ground as they pop up.

She indicated that Wasatch Front customers could experience unplanned outages from wind gusts.

“We’re definitely expecting to see system impacts. So, we do expect customers to see outages due to weather,” Erickson said. “So if you experience a power outage, we want you to call in. Don’t just assume, ‘Well this is a proactive shutoff.'”

The proactive measures are to make sure that RMP is not responsible for igniting any wildfires, and in the event they need to happen, Erickson said they will call customers and let them know. She said it is important for RMP customers to make sure their contact information is up-to-date.

She explained that customers should be prepared to survive without services for 24 to 72 hours. Any outages this weekend, she said, could be prolonged.

Customers can track outages, report outages, and get wildfires safety tips by clicking here.