The towns of Hawthorne, Mina and Luning, plus homes and businesses around Walker Lake will be without power for approximately four hours during the very early morning hours of Thursday, April 21, 2011, from 12:01 a.m. to 4 a.m., while NV Energy installs a new transformer at its Thorne Substation on the north side of town. 

The outage is necessary to complete work to install the transformer and connect it to the power grid in Hawthorne. 

The time of the outage was selected as the least disruptive to the town’s residents and businesses. Mineral County Commissioners, Sheriff, Clerk, School District, Public Works and Hospital were all notified about this planned power outage.

Company employees have been working at the substation since February preparing it to accommodate the new transformer. This second transformer will provide a back-up to the original, plus provide a second source to supply the Town of Hawthorne so future unplanned outages can be restored more quickly.