IRON COUNTY — Roughly 2,000 customers in Parowan, Paragonah and Brian Head were without electricity for most of Saturday, and officials say the outage may persist until Sunday evening.
“We are in the process of gathering necessary equipment from outside facilities such as transformers and generators to assist with restoration efforts,” Rocky Mountain Power stated in a release Saturday afternoon. “We apologize for the inconvenience. Thank you for your continued patience.”
Officials said the outages were caused by an equipment failure that crippled transmission at the Parowan Valley substation.
Rocky Mountain Power’s initial statement Saturday morning estimated that power would be restored by 5 p.m. Saturday, but an update posted just after 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon said the estimated restoration time has been extended until 8 p.m. Sunday.
The estimates are subject to change, the company said, adding, “We will be providing additional information as we progress with the restoration efforts.”
According to Rocky Mountain Power’s online outage map, the outage is affecting approximately 1,618 customers in the town of Brian Head and another 334 in the Parowan area as of 5 p.m. Saturday. To report an outage and/or to receive updates, follow the link to the outage map or text the word “OUT” to 759677.
Rocky Mountain Power spokeswoman Tiffany Erickson told Cedar City News the outage was first reported at approximately 2 a.m. Saturday.
“It’s a rough one,” Erickson said, “but we’ve got our folks working on it as quickly as possible.”
Brian Head town manager Bret Howser said work crews are hoping to have additional mobile generators in place by 10 p.m. Saturday night. But the outage, he noted, has not negatively affected the town’s Fourth of July weekend celebrations.
“Most of the businesses in Brian Head are operating on generators right now,” Howser said, “so all our scheduled events today are still on.”
Customers with home oxygen needs are asked to notify Lincare at 435-586-0106 and/or Intermountain Healthcare at 385-887-6000. Medical equipment assistance is available 24 hours a day until the power outage situation is resolved, officials said.
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