East and Far East El Paso woke up to blinking alarm clocks and dead coffee makers Wednesday morning as dozens of power outages cut electricity to thousands of homes and businesses across the area.
Outage markers stacked up around Viscount Boulevard and Montwood Drive and spilled across the county line into Horizon City near Pellicano Drive, where utility crews fanned out to work on getting the lights back on.
What the outage map shows
According to KDBC, the El Paso Electric outage map listed 23 active outages and about 5,237 customers affected as of Wednesday morning. The station reported that KFOX14/CBS4 reached out to the utility for comment and an update on when service would be restored.
Where to check and report problems
Customers can track the situation in near real time on the utility's outage portal, which shows live outage markers, affected circuits and estimated restoration times. You can view the latest status or report an outage through El Paso Electric's outage map.
Not the first disruption this month
This is only the latest in a string of power hits for the area this spring. On April 3, a semi-truck crash on April 3 that damaged a transmission pole, knocking out power for roughly 2,140 customers, as per Hoodline. Earlier, on April 7, KVIA documented additional Far East outages that also affected thousands.
Safety and next steps
Residents are urged to treat any downed lines as dangerous, unplug sensitive electronics to avoid damage from power surges and keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed to help preserve food. Customers who rely on powered medical equipment should contact their provider and monitor the outage map for restoration estimates and any available priority assistance.
