PNM calls off power shutoff in East Mountains

Jonathan Fjeld | KOB
Updated: March 6, 2025 - 9:56 PM
Published: March 6, 2025 - 3:05 PM

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — PNM has called off a power shutoff planned for Thursday afternoon in the East Mountains to mitigate wildfire risk in the area.

A high wildfire risk was forecast Thursday, prompting PNM to implement the public safety power shutoff – “PSPS” – so power lines don’t spark a wildfire. It was the first time PNM decided to do it. They planned to start at noon before pushing it to 1 p.m. and then calling it off altogether.

Here is a map of the area that was set to be impacted.

A. Montoya Elementary, San Antonito Elementary and Roosevelt Middle School were in this area. At these schools, the Albuquerque Public Schools district instituted a voluntary dismissal Thursday and a two-hour delay Friday for parents and guardians to pick up their students or for students to remain at the school until regular dismissal and bus service.

Bernalillo County is closing the Los Vecinos and Vista Grande community centers and the Whispering Pine Senior Center. Residents can visit any other county community center to access Wifi from the facilities and the parking lots.

The East Mountain Transfer Station is also only accepting cash. Law enforcement, fire rescue and emergency response services will operate as normal.

PNM advises customers to unplug all electrical equipment in their home during a PSPS. However, they advise people to keep a light on so you know when the power is back on. They also advise you to keep flashlights handy.

MORE: What is a Public Safety Power Shutoff? What should you do?

PNM will alert customers before any PSPS and will assess conditions to determine the shutoff length.

“This is about protecting public safety from wildfires in severe conditions. There is growing awareness of this within the industry, in general, especially in the west. We are adapting this as best practice as it becomes necessary to protect public safety,” a PNM representative said.

PNM emphasized the PSPS is just one of the things they are doing to mitigate the risk of wildfires. Mike Mertz, with PNM, noted they are also investing in managing vegetation and modernizing the grid.

“We are moving forward with our grid modernization that will give us enhanced monitoring and enhanced granularity so if we have to implement a public safety power shutoff, we can implement it to specific areas where risk is the highest,” Mertz said.

Santa Fe Public Schools moved classes online Thursday because of the possibility of a shutoff. However, PNM confirmed they won’t do a shutoff in Santa Fe. They also confirmed they won’t do a shutoff on the Cochiti Pueblo and in Las Vegas.

Mike Mertz, with PNM, said the risk scenario improved, allowing them to no longer expect a PSPS in those three areas. They will be on-watch to de-energized power lines if a tree or debris gets into the lines. They also anticipate, if there are any outages, the outages will be “longer in duration” than in normal conditions.

“We know electricity is critical to customers. Ultimately, we believe the safety of our community is at risk and we must do our part to avoid devastation. Our priority is to get people back to full power,” Mertz said.

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