The cold weather on Christmas night proved too much for an aging transformer that malfunctioned and caused a lengthy power outage in the East Mountains.
The area’s electric co-op worked throughout the night to restore power to most of the impacted area by late Monday, ending what had been an unexpected ordeal for residents.
“Kind of frustrated. Running generators to run the electricity for the pump and for the refrigerator,” Rob Richards, an East Mountain resident, told KRQE.
The outage occurred on Christmas night around 10:30 p.m., causing many to resort to candles and fireplaces for light and heat. Central New Mexico Electric Cooperative CEO Alena Brandenberger told KRQE there were more than 2,000 homes affected.
“[Engineers] worked all night," Brandenberger said. "They found all of the issues this morning on the system and started making repairs from that time on."
Power was still out through late Monday in Sandia Park, Sandia Knolls and parts of Edgewood. Other residents said the power was on and off all day. The outage continues for the Sandia Knolls area because crews still need to replace one transformer, KRQE reported. Brandenberger said due to supply chain issues, they won’t get another transformer until Tuesday.
Cedar Grove resident Crystal Collaso said power outages are a common occurrence in the area. She said her family has experienced multiple outages in the past couple of years.
“We’ve only had one other bad outage this winter but 10 years ago, these were a monthly occurrence and it’s gotten better,” said another Cedar Grove resident Roger Nyholm.