UPDATE (5:53 PM) – Latest update from High Plains Power:
- Dubois – We are starting to bring loads on slowly, one circuit at a time, to allow voltage to settle.
- Jeffrey City – Crews have been dispatched to fix the outage. There are long drive times, but we are enroute.
- Hamilton Dome – We are working to stage the power back on for these two subs.
- Badwater/Lysite- Power is still out at this time, no current estimate on time for restoration.
UPDATE (4:45 PM) – The City of Casper Facebook page has shared the following message:
“Heads up Casper! The City of Casper has closed all facilities, except public health and safety facilities and operations, until tomorrow. Casper Transit will cease operations at 4:30 p.m. today.
Normal operations are anticipated to resume tomorrow. This decision was made for the safety of our citizens and staff. The instability of electricity in the region is expected to continue late into the night, and a loss of power after dark could result in unsafe conditions.
City of Casper facilities that closed early are City Hall, Casper Recreation Center, Casper Ice Arena, Casper Family Aquatic Center, and Fort Casper. Stay safe Casper!”
The Powder River Energy Corporation in Sundance also shared the following message on its Facebook page just before 4 PM:
“Bottom line, members should be prepared for an extended outage through the night. The voltages coming into our system are unstable and are tripping off power. That’s why some are seeing ‘lights on, lights off’. We have crews staged at almost every substation to begin safe restoration of power once the voltages stabilize. However, we do not want to flip the switches unsafely. We do not want to blow up transformers or arrestors and cause more problems.”
UPDATE (4:20 PM): Here are the most up-to-date outage map locations for Rocky Mountain Power and High Plains Power (which now indicates that over 2,500 customers are affected in the Dubois area).
For residents in Casper, the Casper Police Department has shared the following information:
Individuals who are oxygen dependent in need of electricity can go to one of the following locations:
- Natrona County High School MAC Facility (athletic facility)
930 S Elm St, Casper, WY
- East Side
Wyoming Medical Center (Banner) East Campus
6550 East 2nd Street, Casper, WY
UPDATE (3:47 PM): Rocky Mountain Power reports 51 outages in Wyoming affecting 10,190 customers.
According to the automated utility tracker Find Energy, approximately 2,454 Fremont County residents were without power as of 2:52 PM. Several Fremont County residents have also reported power interruptions and outages to County 10.
The Fremont County Emergency Management Agency informed residents: “If you are experiencing long term power ongoing outage and need to recharge your medical devices please reach out, here or at 307-856-2374 and we will assist in coordinating, however as this is not a 24/7 monitored channel please as always reach out to 911 if you are in need of immediate medical attention.”
Outages affecting customers of multiple utilities in different parts of the state have been reported. The Wyoming Office of Homeland Security issued this statement at approximately 2:30 PM on Thursday afternoon:
“We’re aware of the power outages across Eastern Wyoming – many of which are already being resolved. The cause of the outages has not been determined, and the outages are not isolated to individual power companies. Crews are working to restore power as quickly as possible and to identify the source of this widespread disruption.”
As reported by Oil City News: “A report of a fire at the Dave Johnson Power Plant east of Glenrock on Thursday was confirmed by Converse County Undersheriff Chris Walsh. At 2:20 PM, Walsh said the incident had been brought under control and had been first reported ‘approximately an hour before’. It is unknown whether the fire is related to the region-wide outages.”
(Central/Eastern Wyoming) – Large-scale power outages have affected thousands of residents across central portions of Wyoming, according to various reports from around the state.
While power has since been restored (as of about 1:30 PM) in Gillette after a reported city-wide outage, High Plains Power has shared that they are “monitoring a large power outage” and that “crews are enroute to various locations.”
“As power continues to be restored, be cautious at traffic light-controlled intersections,” the most recent update from the City of Gillette Facebook page states. “If they are dark, please treat them as four-way stops.”
“We’re aware of a power outage affecting 25,952 customers in Casper, WY and surrounding areas,” an update shared on the Rocky Mountain Power Facebook page about an hour ago informs. “The cause is under investigation. The estimated time of restoration is 9:45 pm. For updates, please text OUT to 759677 or click here.”
The current Rocky Mountain Power Outage Map indicates a heavy concentration of outages from Casper to Glendo.
A more extensive report of outages can be viewed here.
Aside from the planned outage in the Kinnear area, only small outages are currently affecting customers in the Fremont County area. Large-scale outages have yet to be reported.
According to the Powder River Energy Corporation (PRECorp) Facebook page, they are addressing a “big outage at the grid level affecting 26,000 PRECorp meters in northeast Wyoming, along with multiple other states including Basin Electric, PacificCorp, and others.”
“As crews from multiple utilities work to restore this outage, you may experience brief ‘lights on, lights off’ situations,” the most recent PRECorp update states. “Be careful if you activate your generator and know that stop lights and other electric safety features in towns might not be working.”
County 10 will provide updates as they become available.