RIO RANCHO, N.M. – Many people in the metro have had to reset their microwave clocks a lot lately. 

KOB 4 spoke to one man who says these inconveniences have almost become part of his daily routine. 

“It’s been going on about three days,” said Jeff Watkins, a Mariposa resident. 

Watkins is talking about the small power outages happening in his northern Rio Rancho neighborhood.

“They are just little blips. We had a couple today, we had a couple yesterday. The other day we had a couple,” said Watkins. 

Watkins and his wife have lived in the Mariposa development for about three years. Recently, he says his lights have been flickering more often. 

“All the digital clocks and stuff and of course the Wi-Fi it goes off it’s gotta be reset, that’s the worst of it,” Watkins said. 

We reached out to PNM reps to find out what’s causing these frequent “brown outs” as people call them. They say the weather could be to blame. 

In a statement, a spokesperson pointed to the extreme weather lately in New Mexico. They say PNM has been proactive to meet demand and provide reliable power during the summer, but there could be another factor. 

Reps say the electric system has protective measures to protect the system from severe weather. They say that system could momentarily de-energize power lines because of the severe weather. 

PNM reps claim there’s no significant strain or concern about the overall power grid. 

While he may have to keep resetting those appliance clocks for now, Watkins says it’s worth it for the rain. 

“We had a pretty good rain last night, and it’s really welcome we need it. So we’ll take it,” said Watkins. 

PNM reps remind everyone to report those power outages to the utility company, even if they’re minor, so officials can investigate and keep a record.