A massive power outage swept across western South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming on Thursday, November 13, leaving tens of thousands of residents without electricity and disrupting transportation, schools, and emergency services.
Thousands of customers were affected across the region, Black Hills Energy saw nearly 70,000 customers affected. Rocky Mountain Power reporting more than 54,000 outages in Wyoming alone. Additional outages were reported by Powder River Energy Corp (17,782 customers) and Montana-Dakota Utilities (10,648 customers). The blackout extended into parts of Montana, with Casper, Gillette, Sheridan, and Rapid City among the hardest-hit areas.
In Rapid City, South Dakota, the entire city experienced a blackout. Traffic lights went dark, prompting police and sheriff’s deputies to manually direct traffic at major intersections. Authorities urged drivers to treat all affected intersections as four-way stops. Many communities from Belle Fourche, Spearfish, Lead-Deadwood and others also were without power.
While the exact cause remains unconfirmed, unverified reports suggest a fire at the Dave Johnston power plant in Glenrock, Wyoming may have triggered the outage.
Black Hills Energy crews began partial restoration efforts by 1:50 p.m., with some areas in the Black Hills regaining power. However, stability remains uncertain, and full restoration timelines have not been announced.
Despite the outage, Rapid City Area Schools remained open, assuring parents that students would be dismissed at regular times. Public transit services in Rapid City were suspended but have resumed.
The Pennington County Courthouse was evacuated on Nov. 13 due to electrical issues.
The outage comes just days after the NOAA issued a geomagnetic storm warning for states north of the 45th parallel, including South Dakota and Wyoming. The warning raised concerns about grid vulnerability due to increased solar activity.
Utility companies continue to work on restoring power, but residents are advised to stay alert, conserve energy, and follow local emergency updates. Officials have not yet confirmed the cause or provided a full timeline for resolution.
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