EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Two El Paso Electric employees were injured and hospitalized following an incident Wednesday, April 15, that also left thousands without power in East El Paso.
The utility confirmed to KTSM 9 News that two workers were hurt. An earlier report from El Paso Electric stated that one one employee was airlifted to a burn center in Lubbock, but they later provided a correction saying, “No employee was airlifted to Lubbock.
The company said their thoughts remain with their employees and their families, and are focused on supporting them during this time.
The incident sparked a power outage that affected about 5,237 customers. As of 11:50 a.m., 23 outages were impacting Far East and East El Paso, according to the utility’s outage map.
Videos posted on social media showed traffic congestion near Cielo Vista Mall. KTSM 9 News spotted the traffic lights along Hawkins Boulevard flashing yellow.
Traffic lights at Hawkins Blvd. near Cielo Vista Mall (KTSM)
By around 2:30 p.m., electricity had been restored to customers. An El Paso Electric spokesperson confirmed that the outage was caused by the incident at their substation.
Video shared online showed the El Paso Fire Department’s aerial support unit, Fire STAR, responding to El Paso Electric’s Montwood Substation on Rich Beem Boulevard.
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