BENCO: Thousands of outages could take ‘multiple days’ to restore

(Mankato, MN) – BENCO says that the thousands of outage across the service area could take days to restore.

The electric cooperative says that 5,500 customers in their service territory are currently without power, and the forecast will affect restoration.

“Because of the strong forecasted winds, the restoration time is unknown and could last multiple days,” said a Facebook post from the co-op.

About 4 1/2 inches of heavy, wet snow fell on Mankato between Wednesday and Thursday morning, while areas outside of the city saw as much as 7 inches. There have been reports of downed power lines around the state.

“Many, many poles and wires across the service territory are down and broken,” said the Facebook post. “BENCO is contracting outside line crews to assist in the repair efforts.”

Winds are forecast to remain strong throughout the day, with the National Weather Service reporting speeds of 25 to 35 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph. And wind speeds are expected to remain relatively strong through Friday, before calming down for the weekend.

Anyone with a power outage should report to BENCO by calling (507) 387-7963 during regular business hours and (507) 387-7964 after hours.

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