Ice buildup cuts power to thousands in Twin Cities area

Posted at 8:42 AM on February 29, 2012 by Jon Gordon
Filed under: Weather

Xcel Energy is reporting scattered power outages throughout the Twin Cities metro area due to ice building up on power lines and falling tree branches overnight.

13,700 customers are currently without power, said Xcel's Patti Nystuen.

"We're seeing about 7700 in the west metro; about 2800 out in the east metro," she said. "Most of the outages are lasting only a couple of hours but we're continuing to get new outages reported this morning."

Nystuen advises residents to stay away from downed power lines and call Xcel immediately at 1-800-895-1999.