Severe Storm Causes Power Outages for Nearly 7,000 in Minnesota

HIBBING, Minn. — Nearly 7,000 people lost power early Wednesday due to severe storms that swept through the area. The outages began at around 5:40 a.m. and continued until approximately 11:15 a.m., affecting parts of the Hibbing Public Utilities service area.

The storms brought heavy rain and lightning, with approximately 1.5 inches of rain recorded at the Chisholm-Hibbing Airport by 10 a.m. Lightning struck an HPU primary distribution line, leading to equipment failure at the Minnesota Power-owned Kerr substation, which is the sole connection point to the transmission grid.

HPU crews quickly responded to the outages, restoring power to 6,770 customers within two hours. “Through rain, wind, and lightning, I am always impressed by the speed, professionalism, and commitment of HPU’s crews,” said HPU Commission Chair James Bayliss.

Unfortunately, the situation also highlighted ongoing vulnerabilities in Hibbing’s power infrastructure. The recent outage marks the third city-wide blackout in just over two years caused by issues at the Kerr substation.

HPU is planning the Southern Interconnect Project, which aims to create two additional transmission points to improve system reliability.

Besides Hibbing, reports indicate that other local areas also experienced power outages. As of 11 a.m., Minnesota Power reported 17 outages affecting nearly 2,600 customers in neighboring towns.

By noon, Fairview Mesaba in Mountain Iron had to close due to power loss, as Lake Country Power crews worked to restore service to over 2,200 customers after the storms.

The storm system led to additional flooding in Ely, where residents reported standing water on roads, prompting a flash flood warning.