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- Rocky Mountain Power restored power to 14,000 Wasatch Front customers after outages on Monday.
- A downed transmission line in Salt Lake City caused the largest outage.
- Wind gusts are under investigation as an outage cause.
SALT LAKE CITY — Rocky Mountain Power officials say they are investigating the causes of different power outages that left as many as 14,000 customers without power across the Wasatch Front at one point on Monday.
A downed transmission line in Salt Lake City, reported around 1 p.m., created the largest of the outages. About 7,800 customers, primarily near the Avenues and Central City neighborhoods, were without power for hours until it was restored later in the day, said Bianca Velasquez, a spokeswoman for Rocky Mountain Power.
"We are still investigating what caused that transmission line to go down. It was likely weather, but we don't have that confirmed," she said. "It was switched to a different line, and power was restored shortly after."
Most of the other outages were scattered across the Salt Lake Valley, as well as parts of Davis and Weber counties. A similar outage near Bluffdale left about another 1,500 customers without power a few hours after the Salt Lake City incident. The exact cause there also remains under investigation.
The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory for many parts of the state, including the Wasatch Front, because of strong wind gusts expected ahead of an incoming storm. The agency warned that gusty winds could create power outages.
Wind gusts topped out at 74 mph in some mountain parts of the state on Monday, but gusts exceeding 45 mph were also reported all over the Wasatch Front, according to weather service data. Rocky Mountain Power crews braved the wind to help restore all of Monday's outages, Velasquez said.
Most wind advisories have expired, but advisories remain in place for southeastern Utah through Tuesday night. Velasquez urges people to secure outdoor furniture and other items during high-wind events, which can otherwise blow away and potentially create power outages.
"With weather like this, it's a great reminder to have some backup plans in case power goes out due to the weather, and have a 48-hour kit and some backup energy plans for that," she added.
