Power outage impacting downtown Rochester Thursday night

ROCHESTER — A power outage in downtown Rochester closed several businesses on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024.

Some stores in the Galleria at University Square as well as restaurants in the downtown core have closed for the day due to the power outage. As of 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Rochester Public Utilities said power was restored to 80% of customers. The power outage impacted 1,400 customers, according to an RPU Facebook post.

"No lights in the halls, no lights in the stores, digital equipment taking a break," the Nordic Shop posted in a comment on Facebook.

With traffic signals out on several blocks, the Rochester Police Department asks motorists to "slow down, use extra caution, take turns at intersections and allow extra time to get where you're going." The traffic signals were out starting around 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

RPU said the power outages continue south of Fourth Street Southwest. Power has been restored north of Fourth Street Southwest.

"Our crews have identified the issue, and power is expected to be restored within the next two hours," RPU said in a Facebook post at 5:40 p.m. Thursday.