Hundreds of Xcel Energy Customers Still Without Power in Minnesota

Minneapolis, MN (KROC-AM News)- Xcel Energy crews spent the weekend trying to turn the lights back on for thousands of customers in Minnesota. 

A news release from the utility provider said the major storm that swept across the central U.S. Friday brought heavy snow, rain and strong winds to Minnesota. The storm knocked out power for an estimated 280,000 customers in the Twin Cities area as of Saturday morning. 

See Also: Storm Chasers Get Close to Huge Iowa Tornado Friday

120,000 of the customers experienced what was described as a momentary outage while 160,000 customers were left in the dark for a longer period of time. The amount of customers still experiencing long-term outages was knocked down to 37,000 by Saturday evening. 

Xcel says restoration efforts continued throughout the day Sunday. As of Monday morning, an estimated 618 Twin Cities-area customers are still without power. 

Officials say 1,200 crew members are working to restore power connections. The American Red Cross Twin Cities Chapter set up a temporary shelter in Woodbury for those experiencing long-term outages.