Santa Fe couple frustrated amid continued power outages

SANTA FE, N.M. – More than 5,000 PNM customers still don't have power. A Santa Fe couple KOB 4 talked to Friday says they haven't had power since Wednesday.

"It has never been like this," said Paul Grant, a Santa Fe resident.

Grant's home is one of the 843 homes without power in Santa Fe. Grant and his wife say it's affecting their jobs.

"We both have businesses here, I'm on insurance, my wife is a bookkeeper, and we need our computers," said Grant. "We've lost the food in our refrigerator, we have a cooler with some of the frozen stuff, but we've been in the dark," said Grant.

Grant says they're lucky to be able to keep warm, but that they need power to keep up with medical needs.

"She uses oxygen, I'm starting a CPAP. I'm not serious, but it's something that I need to start. I can't get it set up because we need electricity to have power," Grant said.

He says they are able to live without it for a while, but say they're frustrated that PNM hasn't been much help.

"They have sent us texts, three or four texts, saying power is expected to be up by such and such. Of course, that comes and goes. And now they're telling us this morning at 9 o'clock within the next 12 hours. Now we're hearing it's 11:30, and this is Friday night. I don't know if anything they say has any meaning at this point," said Grant.

Grant says it's a waiting game to see when the lights come back on.

"You expect it if you live in the country or in the county. You don't expect it in downtown Santa Fe," said Grant.