Things are looking better for customers of this new-fangled technology called electricity, though receiving it on Thursday was sort of a roller coaster ride.

As of 4:30 p.m., Alliant Energy reported 638 customers in Freeborn County without power. Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services reported 761. Things were looking up.

As of 11:50 a.m., Alliant Energy reported 830 customers without power. By 1 p.m., the figure climbed to 2,110. At 2:30 p.m., the number was 1,126.

The Alliant Energy power outage website, as of 6 a.m., said 2,982 customers were without power in Freeborn County. By 8 a.m., the number was down to 1,004. By 9:30 a.m., it was up to 2,696. The provider serves 12,335 customers in the county.

At 5 a.m., the Alliant Energy website said 1,335 customers in Freeborn County were out of power, but by 5:15 a.m., it had risen to 2,556.

Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services reported 795 customers without power, as of 11:30 a.m. By 1 p.m. the number was holding steady. At 2:30 p.m., it was down to 760.

Its website has this statement: “We’re experiencing various widespread outages in our area. Please call us if you’re experiencing an outage or if you see a downed power line. We can be reached at 1-800-734-6421 or 507-373-6421. You may also call our outage number at 1-800-927-6201 and listen to the entire recording to better serve you. Our linemen are working to restore everyone as quickly as they can. Please stay safe.”

Freeborn-Mower reported 196 without power at 6 a.m. By 8 a.m., the figure rose to 390. By 9:30 a.m., it was 542. It serves 5,969 in its two-county area. Most of its outages were in Freeborn County.