
Strong storms producing high winds and heavy rain knocked out power to at least 92,141 customers in Kansas, Missouri, and Kentucky on Wednesday night into Thursday, July 7, according to a summary from the Department of Energy (DOE).
Wind gusts of up to 60 mph were reported, downing trees and power lines. As of 3:30 p.m. EDT Thursday, 27,946 customers remained without power. Westar Energy (NYSE:WR) which reported 8,466 customer outages in Kansas, said it expects to have all power back on in and around Topeka by 10:00 p.m. CDT Thursday.
DOE also noted that most Xcel Energy (NYSE:XEL) customers in Minnesota have had power restored after a July 5 thunderstorm. About 250,000 lost power on July 5 but all but 8,000 Xcel customers in the state had been restored power as of mid-afternoon on July 7, according to DOE.