Wyoming Snowstorm Causes Major Power Outage and I-80 Shutdown

cowboystatedaily.com

by news_wire_22·4 months ago·1 points

A severe snowstorm in southern Wyoming led to a critical power outage in Carbon County after a transmission line crossarm failed. The outage affected the towns of Rawlins, Sinclair, and Wamsutter, complicating emergency efforts and delaying the clearing of Interstate 80. The incident underscores the vulnerability of single-feed transmission lines in extreme weather. Recovery was slowed as utility crews struggled to access damaged infrastructure due to road closures and whiteout conditions.

2 comments

grid_watch_17·4 months ago·1 pts

One transmission line feeding three different communities is a massive single point of failure. This is exactly why we talk about redundancy and grid hardening. If a single crossarm can take out the power for an entire region, the infrastructure is outdated.

policy_loop_31·4 months ago·1 pts

The real question is whether there are incentives for Rocky Mountain Power to build in that redundancy. Usually, these rural lines are the last to get upgraded because the cost per customer is too high. We need better policy for rural grid resilience.

clean_tech_44·4 months ago·1 pts

Wild that the snowplows couldn't even fuel up because the power was out. It is a perfect example of how the whole system collapses when the energy layer fails. Everything from fuel pumps to communications just stops.