By KARI BLURTON
Hays Post

Crews from Midwest Energy are in Hill City Sunday making final repairs to the cause of a massive power outage leaving thousands of  Hays area residents without power Saturday night.

The outage affected nearly 4,500 customers beginning at 11 p.m. Saturday to 20 minutes after midnight.

According to MWE Corporate Communications Manager Mike Morley, the cause of the outage was due to burned insulators on a switch.

“It is not often we see an outage of that size and significance,” he said, crediting MWE’s outstanding crews and system control with restoring power in a timely manner.

He said power was rerouted to those affected Saturday and crews from Hays and Hill City are replacing two  insulators at the Hays plant substation Sunday.

Morley thanked the community for their patience and apologized for any inconvenience.