Latest news with #PublicServiceCompanyofNewMexico
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Public safety power shutoff underway in Las Vegas, NM on Thursday morning
Video: Recent forecast. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) — The Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) is asking residents of Las Vegas, New Mexico, to prepare for weather-related power outages as high winds are expected to impact the state Thursday afternoon. According to PNM, a public safety power shutoff in Las Vegas is taking place as of 11:30 a.m. this morning. Story continues below Podcast: What Will Voters Do With $1.5 Million? Entertainment: These movies were filmed in Las Cruces. Have you seen them? Crime: ABQ man charged federally for arson attacks at Tesla, Republican Party headquarters Weird: Peacocks spotted in Albuquerque neighborhoods. Where did they come from? Wind gusts are expected to reach over 50mph throughout the state, increasing the risk of power outages from broken tree limbs or other wind damage, PNM says. The National Weather Service has issued Red Flag Warnings across the state due to extreme wildfire risk. This has led PNM to change settings on part of a system to reduce the risk of powerlines causing a wildfire. The settings automatically de-energize power lines when strong winds cause debris or trees to make contact with the line. This makes power outages more likely, but it also reduces the chance of a fire starting. The shut-off will remain in place until the extreme weather conditions have passed. About 2,300 customers in the area can expect this outage to last overnight and up to 48 hours, depending on conditions and potential damage. PNM says power could be restored as early as 3 a.m. Friday, April 18, as long as there is no wind damage. The company asks you report outages in your area by texting #REG to 78766, then #OUT to 78766. You can also go online or give them a call at 888-DIAL-PNM. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Northern N.M. likely to see high winds, precipitation this week
No April Fools' joke here: Northern New Mexico is likely to see high winds, rain and the potential for snow this week. A storm system is slated to move through the Western U.S. this week, said Michael Anand, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Albuquerque office. On Tuesday, that storm system will bring strong winds, heightened fire danger and the possibility of blowing dust. The high winds also could lead to power shutoffs, Public Service Company of New Mexico announced in a news release. By Friday and Saturday, though, Santa Fe can expect some long-awaited moisture, with rain — and snow in the mountains — likely Friday and Saturday. "Rain chances look pretty good across Eastern and Northern New Mexico," Anand said. "The mountains might get one last good snowstorm from this event." Now's the time to secure loose objects and clear out any dead brush, Anand said. "If we do get a spark tomorrow, it could start a fire, and that fire would spread rapidly with the strong winds we're expecting for tomorrow," he said. The National Weather Service has issued red flag warnings — which indicate weather conditions that could result in extreme fire danger — for Tuesday afternoon and evening covering much of Eastern and Central New Mexico. High wind warnings will also be in effect for the Sangre de Cristo Mountains from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, with the National Weather Service forecasting westward winds of 30 to 40 mph and gusts up to 65 mph. Tuesday's wind and weather "could increase the chance of weather-related outages," PNM said in a news release. The utility advised customers, particularly those dependent on electricity for medical equipment, to prepare for the possibility of an outage, though the company did not announce any planned power shutoffs. Because this winter in New Mexico has been such a dry one, the high winds could bring blowing dust or brown-out conditions, Anand said. However, he added Tuesday's weather isn't expected to be as bad as earlier this month, when dust storms resulted in zero visibility on certain roads, the closure of Interstate 25 and multivehicle crashes. "The winds are expected to be a little bit lighter than they were on the 18th," Anand said. "But since we haven't really gotten much [precipitation] at all the last few weeks, we're still looking at a pretty good blowing dust event." Dry conditions are likely to continue through the middle of the week, when the storm system is set to bring moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and wetter, cooler weather late Friday and Saturday. "That could help alleviate the blowing dust concerns and then also help alleviate the fire weather concerns going deeper into the spring," Anand said.
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
PNM customers saw a steep increase in power outages in 2024
Customers of New Mexico's largest electric utility experienced a sharp increase in power outages last year following a steady rise in service disruptions over the past decade, a new report shows. Public Service Company of New Mexico's power reliability report is the first one the utility has submitted to state regulators since the Public Regulation Commission passed a rule last year requiring annual reporting of outages. PNM says its overall system reliability is still 99.85% — lower than in recent years but above nationwide averages. It saw increases last year in most of the metrics by which it measures system reliability, including the total cumulative number of outage minutes and outage frequency. PNM customers went without power for an average cumulative total of about 4.6 hours in 2024 — more than double the year before, at 1.8 hours, and the highest number the utility has counted in the last 10 years by far. Excluding what utilities call "major event days," characterized by long power interruptions, usually caused by major weather events, the average cumulative outage time per customer was just over two hours, or 124 minutes, compared to an average of about 1.5 hours the year before. PNM counted six major event days in 2024, which is the highest number the utility has ever counted in one year, said Omni Warner, the company's vice president of operations and engineering. Those included two days of disastrous fires in and around Ruidoso, severe thunderstorms from a heavy monsoon season and an early snowstorm in Santa Fe and Albuquerque in November. The New Mexican in October reported an increase in power outages for PNM customers last year, including several widespread power outages in the Santa Fe area over the summer. Warner said much of the increase could be attributed to storms during the "very active" monsoon season, with the wind, rain and lightning damaging the utility's infrastructure. Cumulative outage times for PNM customers in the the Santa Fe area nearly doubled in 2024 from the year before, and outage frequency increased as well, but average restoration times decreased, according to the report. Each PNM customer saw about 1.3 outages on average, or about one outage per customer with major event days excluded. The outage frequency in 2024 was the second highest in the last 10 years, next to 2018. The system overall saw a minor drop in average restoration time — with major event days excluded — from 127 minutes in 2023 to 123.5 minutes in 2024. The restoration time has increased over the last 10 years. The top cause of power outages for PNM in 2024 — according to the report — was equipment failures, such as cable faults, which caused about 44% of outages. "Our original cabling, years ago, that we put in the ground was direct buried cable," Warner said. "It's served our customers very well for 40 years, but some of that cabling is starting to fail. When we replace the cabling, we place it in a conduit so it has more resiliency. It also allows us to replace cable faster, so we have a lot of that mapped on our system. We've been aggressively replacing cable." He referred to a few particularly large power outages in Santa Fe in 2024 that came when entire substations tripped offline. He said damages to the utility's infrastructure came from lightning strikes, which destroyed switch gears and other equipment; crews worked through the night to make repairs. Lightning strikes caused 9.2% of outages in 2024. Much of the utility's infrastructure is aging, Warner acknowledged, and the utility is working to ramp up replacement and modernization of many parts of the grid, which he said will increase reliability. Public Regulation Commissioner Patrick O'Connell said Friday the requirement for system reliability reporting is aimed at increasing transparency, "to help focus on whether investments are being made where they're needed the most." The reports are meant to provide a foundation by which ramped-up investments can be measured, he said. "Without the information it's hard to know," he said. "It will be very helpful to have this kind of information when we're looking at grid modernization and some other upcoming investments."
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Strong winds forecast to cease through weekend before kicking up again
Mar. 14—Weather forecasters say whipping winds across the state will calm through the weekend before returning alongside scattered snowstorms. The forecasted snow may come as a relief from the high winds New Mexicans have encountered this week, which spurred the National Weather Service to issue multiple wind advisories and dust storm warnings on Friday. Areas across New Mexico registered peak wind gust speeds over 70 mph on Friday — including Cannon Air Force Base, Roswell and Clines Corners, which registered wind gusts of 75 mph. The Public Service Company of New Mexico also issued extreme weather advisories, warning customers that potential power disruptions may occur. "Saturday might be a little bit better than today in terms of the wind, but overall it's still going to be a cold and kind of unstable day," said Clay Anderson, a Weather Service meteorologist in Albuquerque. Temperatures will be roughly 10 degrees below normal heading into the weekend, reaching a high of the mid-50s, according to Anderson. Residents in the Albuquerque metro area may notice snow Saturday morning, but a majority will be seen over western and central mountains. "Overall, not the best day, but there will be significant improvements on Sunday," Anderson said. "We won't have a whole lot of wind to contend with in the afternoon hours." Sunday will also mark a turn in temperatures, reaching a high in the mid-60s. Monday temperatures could reach the mid-70s. The warmer weather will only be temporary, Anderson said, as there may be additional winds in advance of the next storm system, expected to move directly over New Mexico on Tuesday. "I would expect another round of strong winds and potentially some critical fire weather conditions and blowing dust next Tuesday," Anderson said. The village of Wagon Mound in Mora County was on evacuation notice after a wildfire burned 3,000 acres Friday afternoon, enhanced by high wind speeds. The village was on a high wind warning until 6 p.m. and experienced wind gusts of roughly 60 mph.
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
PNM customers saw a steep increase in power outages in 2024
Customers of New Mexico's largest electric utility experienced a sharp increase in power outages last year following a steady rise in service disruptions over the past decade, a new report shows. Public Service Company of New Mexico's power reliability report is the first one the utility has submitted to state regulators since the Public Regulation Commission passed a rule last year requiring annual reporting of outages. PNM says its overall system reliability is still 99.85% — lower than in recent years but above nationwide averages. It saw increases last year in most of the metrics by which it measures system reliability, including the total cumulative number of outage minutes and outage frequency. PNM customers went without power for an average cumulative total of about 4.6 hours in 2024 — more than double the year before, at 1.8 hours, and the highest number the utility has counted in the last 10 years by far. Excluding what utilities call "major event days," characterized by long power interruptions, usually caused by major weather events, the average cumulative outage time per customer was just over two hours, or 124 minutes, compared to an average of about 1.5 hours the year before. PNM counted six major event days in 2024, which is the highest number the utility has ever counted in one year, said Omni Warner, the company's vice president of operations and engineering. Those included two days of disastrous fires in and around Ruidoso, severe thunderstorms from a heavy monsoon season and an early snowstorm in Santa Fe and Albuquerque in November. The New Mexican in October reported an increase in power outages for PNM customers last year, including several widespread power outages in the Santa Fe area over the summer. Warner said much of the increase could be attributed to storms during the "very active" monsoon season, with the wind, rain and lightning damaging the utility's infrastructure. Cumulative outage times for PNM customers in the the Santa Fe area nearly doubled in 2024 from the year before, and outage frequency increased as well, but average restoration times decreased, according to the report. Each PNM customer saw about 1.3 outages on average, or about one outage per customer with major event days excluded. The outage frequency in 2024 was the second highest in the last 10 years, next to 2018. The system overall saw a minor drop in average restoration time — with major event days excluded — from 127 minutes in 2023 to 123.5 minutes in 2024. The restoration time has increased over the last 10 years. The top cause of power outages for PNM in 2024 — according to the report — was equipment failures, such as cable faults, which caused about 44% of outages. "Our original cabling, years ago, that we put in the ground was direct buried cable," Warner said. "It's served our customers very well for 40 years, but some of that cabling is starting to fail. When we replace the cabling, we place it in a conduit so it has more resiliency. It also allows us to replace cable faster, so we have a lot of that mapped on our system. We've been aggressively replacing cable." He referred to a few particularly large power outages in Santa Fe in 2024 that came when entire substations tripped offline. He said damages to the utility's infrastructure came from lightning strikes, which destroyed switch gears and other equipment; crews worked through the night to make repairs. Lightning strikes caused 9.2% of outages in 2024. Much of the utility's infrastructure is aging, Warner acknowledged, and the utility is working to ramp up replacement and modernization of many parts of the grid, which he said will increase reliability. Public Regulation Commissioner Patrick O'Connell said Friday the requirement for system reliability reporting is aimed at increasing transparency, "to help focus on whether investments are being made where they're needed the most." The reports are meant to provide a foundation by which ramped-up investments can be measured, he said. "Without the information it's hard to know," he said. "It will be very helpful to have this kind of information when we're looking at grid modernization and some other upcoming investments."
