A significant power outage struck the metro area on Sunday, affecting nearly 200,000 residences and businesses due to a malfunctioning transformer at an Xcel Energy substation. This incident, which unfolded just before 3 p.m., not only disabled the transformer but also led to damage in additional equipment at the substation, creating a ripple effect that extended to other substations, as explained by Xcel Energy spokesperson Michelle Aguayo. In total, over 195,000 customers experienced the disruption.
The majority of those impacted were located in the southeastern parts of the metro area; however, the repercussions reached as far north as Denver International Airport, where trains connecting travelers between concourses had to halt operations.
Transformers are essential components in the electrical distribution system, as they transform high-voltage electricity from transmission lines into a safer, more manageable voltage for consumers, according to information provided by Xcel Energy.
This series of outages also affected customers of Core Electric Cooperative since the power grids operated in conjunction with Xcel Energy's system. On that day, approximately 44,000 customers of Core Electric experienced power loss, particularly in Douglas and Arapahoe counties, as detailed in the utility’s outage map.
By around 5:15 p.m. on Sunday, Core Electric had resolved its outages, while the last customers of Xcel Energy saw their power restored approximately half an hour later, around 5:45 p.m., as mentioned by Aguayo. Furthermore, she confirmed that the malfunctioning transformer responsible for initiating this widespread outage is set to be replaced.
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