Update on the unplanned power outage in Faro (September 21)

Update as of 5pm on September 21

Power has been restored to all Faro residents. You can now turn your hot water tanks back on; however, we ask Faro residents to limit your electricity usage this weekend. The power system in Faro is still vulnerable and a large, sudden increase in load could result in another outage. Limit your hot water use, delay using major appliances like the dishwasher, washing machine or dryer, and keep devices you're not using unplugged.

Thank you to all Faro residents for your continued cooperation. We know it’s hasn’t been easy and appreciate your patience.

Update as of 1:20pm on September 21

We continue to try to restore power to the final section of town. We do not have timing on when this will be yet, but will continue to provide updates. Because the town has been without power for a while, it makes re-energizing the system more challenging. 

Update as of 10:30am on September 21

Our crews were able to fix the issue at our diesel plant in Faro. We are now working on restoration, and expect power to be restored by noon today, Saturday, September 21.

Next steps: We are working on re-configuring a few of the rental diesel generators in Faro so they can be used for back-up, in the event we experience another issue at the diesel plant while Faro is islanded from the rest of the grid.

We will provide an update once power has been restored.

Cause of the outage: Right now, Faro is islanded from the rest of the grid, due to equipment failure on the system. As a result, the town has been running off our permanent diesel generator at our plant in Faro. A piece of equipment at the diesel plant broke, causing the outage.