Electricity - reliable? (Rio Rancho: power lines, live in, electric)

[JasmineinFL]

When I was checking the weather forcasts this morning, I noticed it's going to be another really windy day in ABQ and it got me to thinking about the reliability of electrical service. Do many areas of the city, or the East Mountains, have power outages during these wind events?

The reason I ask is that in this part of FL it seems the power goes out every time we have heavy wind, or rain, or serious cold, or massive heat...heck, I think it goes out whenever someone at the power plant f@rts!

[rwjoyak]

We've only been here 3 months but so far I've found the electricity to be more reliable than the other areas we've lived (Louisville, KY; Sacramento, CA; and Fairbanks, AK). Louisville was the worst with numerous although mostly short power outages each year, probably averaging one every couple of weeks. Think this has to do with overhead electric lines and lots of trees/branches that blow over the lines in high winds and during storms. Sacramento was next worst, due to not enough power plants and rolling blackouts.

We live in Rio Rancho and haven't had any power outage since we've been here even with the wind and storms that have come through. It's been a pleasant change from KY.

[Poncho_NM]

Rio Rancho, I can only recall one outage of note, maybe 15 minutes once in an 11 year period.

I really can't speak for the other areas. That does not seem to be a major issue in the ABQ area that I can recall.

[jaxart]

The more tall trees, the worse the problem. Luckily for my area, the power company is very good about keeping after trees and tree limbs that encroach on the power line easements. That doesn't keep an occasional tall tree that isn't on the easement from blowing over. Nor does it keep power poles themselves from blowing over, as was the case last week during a high wind event - and the downed power lines caused a 300 acre grass fire that closed the nearby highway temporarily. Even then the power company had power restored in a few hours time.

[yukon]

I'm in the NE part of town, almost in the foothills, and even with the canyon winds, have not lost power.

[AlisonL]

No above ground electric lines where I live.

[mortimer]

Originally Posted by yukon

I'm in the NE part of town, almost in the foothills, and
even with the canyon winds, have not lost power.

Same here.

At least, I have not lost power in the wind. I've lost it
inexplicably on a couple of calm days. From my experience
in Phoenix, you tend to lose power more often in a new area.
The storms blow through, the "weak links" break, and the
power company fixes them ( creating a new "weak link." )

What's really impressive is not losing my satellite signal
when it's really windy!