More than 7,000 El Paso Electric customers woke up in the dark early Wednesday after a wave of storms knocked out power across the Borderland. The utility's outage map showed 44 separate outages affecting 7,119 customers as of about 1:29 a.m., with the blackouts stretching from El Paso and Horizon City to San Elizario, Santa Teresa and Las Cruces, New Mexico.
According to KFOX, the outage map did not list a cause for the disruptions or offer estimated restoration times for affected customers. The blackout came as the National Weather Service had a regional Flood Watch in effect from Tuesday through 7 p.m. Wednesday, warning of heavy rain, southeast winds of 10–15 mph and flash flooding risk across El Paso and southern New Mexico, according to the National Weather Service.
This is not an isolated incident. Just six days earlier, severe weather triggered about 55 separate outages across the Borderland, cutting power to nearly 11,000 El Paso Electric customers concentrated in West El Paso, Anthony, Vinton and Berino, New Mexico, according to KTSM. Hoodline reported on that outage in a piece titled El Paso Electric Outage Hits 8,000 Customers Amid Storms, reporting 8,242 residents without power as part of a run of blackouts that has hit the region repeatedly since August.
Customers Left Without Answers on Restoration Times
Texas customers can report an outage by calling 915-877-3400, while New Mexico customers can call 575-523-7591, per the outage map details relayed by KFOX. Beyond those contact numbers, the utility's map offered no timeline for when crews might restore service to the thousands still affected.
El Paso Electric serves roughly 465,000 customers across a 10,000-square-mile territory stretching from Hatch, New Mexico, to Van Horn, Texas, according to El Paso Electric. That places the 7,119 customers affected Wednesday within a small but recurring slice of the utility's overall footprint, which has also experienced outages this year.
A Grid Built Outside Texas's Main Power Network
Unlike almost every other major Texas utility, El Paso Electric is not connected to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas grid. Instead it operates within the Western Interconnection, according to GridInfo. The outage map did not list a cause for Wednesday's outages.
The blackout also lands during a sensitive stretch for the company. Formal evidentiary hearings on El Paso Electric's pending New Mexico rate case were scheduled before the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission from September 21 through October 2, following the utility's request for a $70.4 million increase in base rates, per the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. EPE has cited $408 million in New Mexico grid investments since 2020 to justify the proposed increase.
Rate Hikes and Reliability Under Scrutiny
That New Mexico case follows a Texas rate settlement finalized earlier this year. In February, the Public Utility Commission of Texas approved a deal setting the average residential fixed monthly charge at $13.71, up from $9.25, according to a release from the City of El Paso. The settlement followed the utility's initial $22.39 proposal.
