Xcel Energy crews report progress on restoring power to Tucumcari, Clovis

TUCUMCARI, N.M. (KFDA) - Xcel Energy crews report they have restored power to all Tucumcari customers and are working on restoring power to the Clovis area.

Crews were successful in starting the Quay County Generating Station after changing out some computer equipment on a controller, according to Xcel Energy Senior Media Relations Representative Wes Reeves.

It is possible repairs on the transmission line will not be complete until Monday, so Tucumcari will stay connected to the backup source for the weekend, said Reeves.

As of 4:00 p.m. Thursday, there are still about 600 customers without power in the Clovis area. Distribution crews will continue restoring power through the evening.

Xcel Energy confirmed 20 transmission structures, which are on a 115-kilovolt transmission line that supplies the city of Tucumcari with power, are down due to the storms last night.

The company said the severe storm last night impacted the transmission line that was supplying electricity to the city of Tucumcari.

Xcel has called in multiple in-house construction crews to rebuild the structures and restore the line, which could continue through the weekend.

It caused an outage to all of Tucumcari customers, which is 3,473 customers. The outage in Clovis has impacted about 648 customers.

Xcel has an infrequently operated backup power station in Tucumcari, called the Quay County Generating Station, which is able to power up the city. Power plant crews worked to start that generator, but dealt with a controller issue.

Transmission line crews weren’t able to reach the damaged line overnight due to flooding. However, they are now assessing damage to that line.

Xcel has worked to restore power to Tucumcari with the Quay County Generating Station while other crew members continue to work to repair the line.

An estimated time of restoration is not known at this time.

Xcel is working with New Mexico, Tucumcari and Quay County leadership.

We will update you when more details are made available.

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