FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                            

March 19,

2025                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                          

Kit Carson Electric Cooperative and Kit Carson Internet After Action Report on Electric and Internet Outage, Tuesday, March 18, 2025

 

On March 18, 2025, Kit Carson Electric Cooperative (KCEC) and Kit Carson Internet (KCI) effectively managed a series of outages triggered by high winds. These outages specifically impacted Red River, Upper Red River, Eagle Nest, and various other locations within our service territory. All of the power disruptions stemmed from winds that caused trees and debris to fall onto our utility lines. Our dedicated KCEC crews acted swiftly to resolve these issues and restore power and internet services.

 

KCEC experienced several outages due to high winds in the area. Richard, Alonzo, and Edward stepped up to manage the dispatching of the crews and stayed until about 9 PM to ensure that all issues were addressed and handled by the teams. Below are the affected areas and the primary cause of all outages, which were high winds and trees that fell due to the wind:

 

·     Ranchos Circuit (Los Cordovas 2): Trees were discovered near the Rio Fernando off Culebra that were swaying into the power line due to strong wind gusts. The crew cut the tree down to the ground and then re-energized the circuit. They continued to patrol the area and found additional locations where trees need to be trimmed along Camino Abajo de la Loma West. This trimming will be addressed today, March 19, 2025.

 

·     Conchas, Country Club, Pino (AF Behind DAV Memorial): A crew was dispatched to this area, patrolled, and found a tree branch hanging on the line between the phase and neutral. The crew removed it and re-energized the area.

 

·       At Upper Red River, a tree that was approximately 25 feet away was uprooted and fell onto the outside phase, breaking two crossarms. This incident occurred at the Valley of the Pines, right as the power line exits the canyon. Crews replaced the broken crossarms, reattached the lines, and restored power to the area.

·       The structure fire at 12 Balsamo Rd damaged two-meter bases and a pad-mounted transformer. The transformer was replaced, the one-meter base was re-energized, and the other needed to be replaced.

 

·       At 242 Campo Verde Rd (off Rim Rd, AS), crews responded to a broken A-5 primary riser. They replaced the pole, attached the riser to the new pole, and re-energized the area.

 

·       The 69 kV breaker (located at Arroyo Hondo, SS, Amalia, and Tres Piedras) operated 7 to 8 times due to high winds. During this period, customers from Arroyo Hondo north to Amalia and west to Tres Piedras and Los Pinos experienced brief power interruptions. Additionally, there were several other outages that affected fewer customers and smaller areas.

 

·       Ranchos ckt (Los Cordovas 2):   Trees were discovered near the Rio Fernando off Culebra swaying into the line with the strong wind gusts.  The crew cut the tree to the ground, and then we energized.  The crew continued to patrol the circuit and found other areas where trees need to be trimmed along Camino Abajo de la Loma West (will be taken care of today, March 19, 2025). 

 

·       Conchas, Country Club, Pino (AF Behind DAV Memorial):  Crew was dispatched to this area, patrolled and found a tree branch hanging on the line between the phase and neutral.  The crew removed and re-energized the area.

 

Wind gusts in the area reached up to 70 mph, and sustained winds ranged from 23 mph to 40 mph, which considerably strained our electrical system. This situation led to intermittent power fluctuations throughout the town and caused a malfunction in the internet switch located in Arroyo Hondo?a critical component that serves much of the northern area, including Arroyo Hondo, Arroyo Seco, Questa, Taos Ski Valley, and surrounding regions. KCI crews quickly identified the issue and took immediate action, reconfiguring and replacing the malfunctioning switch despite the extensive nature of the task. Our team worked diligently to restore internet service as quickly as possible.

 

We take pride in the fact that KCEC and KCI crews worked diligently and safely throughout the night to ensure the restoration of electric and internet services. Looking ahead, KCEC will implement additional backup measures for our internet infrastructure to boost reliability and resilience across our systems. We are committed to equipping ourselves with preconfigured switches and backups that protect our critical infrastructure.

 

We appreciate our members' understanding during these outages. Our responsibility is to learn and adapt in the face of increasing extreme weather events in our region. It's worth noting that, thankfully, no fires were sparked by the outages. KCEC and KCI recognize the vital importance of our electric and internet services for medical devices, refrigeration of medications, well-pump operations, and communication.

 

As we move forward, KCEC is fully dedicated to enhancing the reliability of our systems and increasing our resilience to weather-related events. 

 

For any questions, please contact Luis Reyes at lreyes@kitcarson.com or rmartinez@kitcarson.com.

 

Luis A. Reyes Jr. 

CEO 

Kit Carson Electric Cooperative