UPDATE: Voluntary 10 p.m. Curfew Still In Effect For El Paso, Power Woes Continue

The City of El Paso’s voluntary 10 p.m. curfew remains in effect for Wednesday night. City Manager Joyce Wilson made the announcement during an afternoon news conference at the Office of Emergency Management in downtown El Paso.

El Paso Electric has asked all customers in El Paso to immediately curtail as much electrical usage as they can. EPE has lost all generation at the Rio Grande and Newman power plants, leading the company to institute rolling blackouts throughout the city. Right now, EPE is receiving power from it’s Palo Verde plant in Arizona.

Blackouts were lasting between 30 minutes and two hours and were expected to last throughout the day. EPE has notified the Doa Ana County Emergency Operations Center in nearby Las Cruces of planned, rolling blackouts of one-hour durations across the grid to conserve power.

Officials describe the situation as critical. In advance of problems later tonight, the City says it will open a shelter at the convention center. All City and County offices are already closed to conserve energy.

The low temperature for Wednesday morning dropped to 7 degrees and left highways and street surfaces with a dusting of snow and some black ice. Dozens of traffic accidents were reported overnight. All major school districts closed for the day.

The high was expected to reach 20 degrees. There were reports of up to three inches of snow in some parts of the city.

Wednesday night will be cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow with a low between 5 and 10 degrees and east winds at 15 to 20 mph.

Thursday is expected to be partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow in the morning with a high in the mid-20s and northeast winds at 10 to 15 mph.

Related Link:Link:Closures, Delays and Road Conditions