Thousands waiting for power to be restored across Southcentral

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Power outages are sweeping across the Southcentral region, and many have been without power since early this morning.

Matanuska Electric is reporting more than 8,000 customers (12%) are waiting for power to be restored, as of 5:30 p.m. Monday.

Chugach Electric, which serves about 90,000 members between Anchorage and the northern Kenai Peninsula, is reporting considerably fewer outages. The hardest hit area is 30 miles south of Anchorage in Girdwood, which is reporting close to 300 customers without power, almost half the total tally.

Chugach’s outage map is estimating power to be restored to most customers by 10 p.m., but Chugach spokesperson Julie Hasquet said power could be restored before or after that, depending on Mother Nature’s cooperation.

“If you don’t have power, we encourage you to do an assessment of your emergency supplies and make sure that you’ve got what you need at the ready. If you go on an extended outage and you feel like it’s getting too cold in your house, reach out to friends or neighbors to see if you might find a place to stay,” Hasquet said.

Hasquet said the wet, heavy snow from the past two storms has been too much for power lines and poles to handle, and some crews are dealing with difficult terrain and uncooperative weather.

According to the Municipality of Anchorage, the street maintenance division has responded to and cleared over 80 downed trees on roadways.

“Some of the roads aren’t plowed, so we can’t get to the areas. Some of the areas like on the Hillside or south of Anchorage are on mountains and we have to patrol lines on snowshoes or snow machines ... so we’re very unique in Alaska in that we have this very challenging terrain,” Hasquet said.

At the height of the storm, Hasquet said Chugach had as many as 2,500 outages in the Dowling area in Anchorage. Power has been restored to all of those customers, she said.

To report an outage to Chugach Electric, fill out a form online or call 907-762-7888 (Anchorage customers), 800-478-7494, (outside Anchorage customers) or 907-762-7227 (danger tree hotline).

To report an outage to Matanuska Electric, call 907-746-7697 (Mat-Su Valley customers), 907-696-7697 (Eagle River customers) or by logging into the Smart Hub account and selecting “Report an Outage.”

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