Blast, fire closes Xcel plant in east metro; customers unaffected

No customers are without power

Star Tribune

Last update: March 11, 2008 - 1:48 AM

THE LATEST: Xcel Energy officials said it's still too early to know what caused an explosion and fire that forced the utility to shut down one of its plants Monday.

Spokeswoman Mary Sandok said fire crews were still extinguishing hot spots seven hours after a small explosion occurred at the Allen S. King coal plant in Oak Park Heights.

NO INJURIES: No one was hurt in the 5 a.m. blast, which happened in a building where coal is crushed before it is sent to the main plant a few miles away.

Sandok said Xcel is shutting down the coal crusher and nearby plant to assess the damage and try to determine what led to the blast. She said the plant likely will be off line "a couple of days."

NO OUTAGES: No one lost power as a result of the fire and customers should not expect any outages while the plant is closed, said spokesman Tom Hoen.

Hoen said Xcel Energy will ramp up power at other plants or buy power from other sources to make up for the loss of 600 megawatts of power produced at the plant. Hoen said a megawatt serves about 1,000 homes.

TIM HARLOW

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