Thousands left without electricity following Xcel outages

Thousands of Xcel Energy customers in the Twin Cities metro area were without electricity Tuesday night, presumably leaving many without heat as temperatures dropped to lower than minus 20.

Xcel received multiple calls over a specific outage near Savage, Minn., spokesperson Matt Lindstrom said. That problem was related to the cold weather, he said, but he didn't have specifics.

There were outages reported across the metro area, according to Xcel's outage map. As many as 6,300 customers didn't have electricity at one point Tuesday night.

Lindstrom said the outages causes varied, but he didn't have details.

Xcel crews were out late into the night working to restore power and they were making progress as of late Tuesday night, he said.

The utility anticipated issues as temperatures were expected to plunge to dangerous levels, and the company had 30 extra "emergency employees" working overnight Wednesday morning, Lindstrom said.

"We do appreciate our customers' patience," he said. "Public safety is our priority."