MINOT, N.D. (KCND) – The member services manager for Verendrye Electric Cooperative, based In Minot, said this weekend’s storm was the worst he’s seen in his 13 years with the cooperative.
Tom Rafferty said at the height of the storm, around 1800 customers were without power. As of Monday, that number is between 400 and 500. The co-op is still looking at the damage from the storm. He estimates there are around 250 broken poles in the service area.
Rafferty said if the temperature would have been a few degrees different either lower or higher the outcome would have been much different. If it was pure snow or only rain there would likely not have been many issues. However, being around the freezing point, ice will stick to the poles and lines and will cause major problems.
He said crews continue to work to restore power but unfortunately, it’s going to take days to get all customers back on.