Gonzales residents left in dark during early morning outage

Gonzales and Harwood area residents woke up early Monday morning to an unexpected power outage following stormy conditions. City electric superintendent Nick DeLeon stated that the power was out for “approximately three hours” with “at least 100 households affected.”

All power was restored by 9 a.m., with Gonzales High School having a late start to keep students safe and allow parents to transport students to school after the outage.

The Gonzales electric department maintains all electric service for the city of Gonzales and Harwood, which includes conductors, switches and transformers, and 57 miles of utility lines for the distribution of electricity.

The Gonzales dam on the Guadalupe River is essential for flood control and water recreation. It also contains a functioning hydroelectric plant. The power house was built in 1925. The dam itself is older, dating back to the teens. The plant produces an average of 1.1 megawatts, which makes up about one sixth of Gonzales’ power supply. The rest is purchased from the LCRA (Lower Colorado River Authority).