Power had been restored to most Twin Cities households Sunday evening after a weekend blizzard dumped more than eight inches of snow on the metro and caused widespread outages, according to Xcel Energy’s website.
Xcel expected to have 98 percent of storm-related outages resolved by Sunday evening, with service being restored to its remaining customers by early Monday afternoon, the Minneapolis-based utility said in a news release Sunday.
Beginning Friday night, the late-spring snowstorm knocked down tree branches and damaged power lines. When the wet, heavy snow finally stopped falling on Saturday morning, about 70,000 Xcel customers were without power.
“Xcel Energy thanks its customers for their patience throughout this storm recovery effort,” the news release said. “The company also extends its appreciation to the 1,200 crew members working tirelessly through the weekend to restore service to our customers following the storms that caused significant damage in the region.”
Xcel customers still without power can view the status and estimated restoration time of their outage on the company’s outage map. As of 10:45 p.m. Sunday, the map showed that fewer than 1,000 Xcel customers were still affected by power failures. By Monday morning, that number had been whittled down to 200, with 44 customers still without power on Monday.
The company also noted that the Twin Cities chapter of the Red Cross opened an overnight shelter on Sunday at King of Kings Lutheran Church in Woodbury for people who are still without power. The church is at 1583 Radio Drive.
Snacks and water will be provided, and people are encouraged to bring charging cables for their electronic devices, Xcel’s news release said.
