It's possible we never fully appreciate electricity until we don't have it.

While there really is never a good time for a power outage, sometimes are better than others. An outage late in the evening in the spring is certainly better than having one right in the middle of the morning commute when most businesses are open and traffic flow is heavy - or in the middle of an extreme cold spell in the middle of January.

Late Night Power Outage

A power outage at around 10:30 Sunday night left more than 20,000 Grand Junction residents without power for about two hours before it started coming back on at around 12:30 am. According to Xcel Energy, a total of seven outages affected nearly 23,000 customers. A post being shared on Facebook indicated a "transmission failure" was to blame for the outage.

Several stoplights in Grand Junction were affected by the outage. Obviously, Sunday night traffic in the city isn't especially heavy and, fortunately, no accidents were reported. The Grand Junction Police Department took advantage of the opportunity to remind residents to treat non-functioning lights at intersections as four-way stops. Seems like more people need to be aware of that fact.

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Grand Junction Residents React

It's always interesting to read some of the reactions of residents on social media. Some folks look on the humorous side of things, some are angry, and some turn it into a political discussion. Still, others were a bit fearful. The extreme darkness in the affected area was definitely a little creepy.

  • "What’s a 4 way stop?? People in this town need to learn how a 4 way stop works as well as how the blinkers work on their cars."
  • "I just heard the transformer shot off for the 5th time and I live near the Lincoln Park Golf Course."
  • "So very scary. That’s is a huge part of this city. Our grid so vulnerable."
  • They were fireworks! The apartments I live by were lighting a bunch of big ones off."
  • "I opened my blinds right after the power went out and heard popping sounds and saw sparks right outside of my window. It wasn’t fireworks."
  • "23,000 people without power? Someone just took down a major power grid!"
  • "People need to slow down on Orchard Mesa..flying down the highway still."
  • "Half the city is out!!"
  • "I’ve watched NUMEROUS close calls at Orchard and 28 1/4 rd. No one is stopping! A group of kids on bikes almost got hit."
  • "23,000 customers!! This is scary. Biden should up our utility resources so this doesn’t happen again. Taking care of our country and its people first. So many problems here at home. Sitting here in the dark."
  • "It’s a little hot. I’m literally sweating here. Hope they hurry up."
  •  'I wish Walmart was open I would get TP ...... before it runs out."
  • "Grandma is asleep will tell her in the morning."

Power outages are a fact of life, though, not all that frequent in the Grand Valley. They definitely can be inconvenient and sometimes unnerving. And for those who slept right through the outage and never suffered a loss of power, it's just business as usual.

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