Thousands remain without power, but the region’s main power provider has estimated the majority of homes will have power restored by Friday night.
Restoration has been a multi-day effort requiring over 9,000 additional personnel from other states. While the additional resources have helped, a persistent storm front has caused delays and even more outages.
Heavy thunderstorms struck the area again Thursday afternoon and weather forecasts were predicting yet another round of storms Friday. A line of storms will race through the area in the early morning, starting in the Dallas-Fort Worth area then slowly weakening as the front moves into East Texas, according to CBS19 meteorologists.
By early Thursday, power had been restored to more than 480,000 Oncor customers. The storm earlier this week was followed by a heavy storm the week before, and both caused significant damage to the provider’s system and more than 650,000 customer outages overall.
Oncor teams have been working to restore power since early Tuesday. While restoration is expected to be substantially complete by Friday evening, Oncor has said this with the caveat of “weather permitting.” Additionally, harder hit areas are expected to be restored Saturday.
Just as crews made headway on outages, more customers were affected by the next round of storms.
Over 7,000 Smith County customers were without power as of 5:35 p.m. Thursday. In Cherokee County, over 1,400 were without power and in Van Zandt, nearly 3,000 customers were still impacted by outages. Nearly 900 were still without power in Anderson County and over 2,100 in Henderson County were in the dark.
Utility partners from eight different states responded to a request for mutual assistance and are working alongside Oncor personnel and contractors to help trim vegetation, reconstruct heavily damaged equipment and reestablish power to families and businesses.
“While significant progress has been made, Oncor recognizes the frustration and challenges faced by customers who are still without power and appreciates their patience. Oncor teams will continue working 16-hour shifts both day and night until all customer outages are restored,” the company said in a statement Thursday.
Oncor says trees and on-the-ground debris have made access to restoration areas “extremely difficult.” As damage assessments are completed, responding workers have to clear downed trees and debris blocking or tangled in equipment so repairs can be made, which can include rebuilding infrastructure, setting new power poles and hanging power lines, the company said.
Tom Trimble, Oncor’s customer service East region manager, said after the storms made their way through East Texas roughly 67,000 East Texas Oncor customers were impacted.
“We were sitting around about 67,000 customers ... this is a multi day restoration effort,” Trimble said in an interview with CBS19.
Oncor said it focuses on getting power back to critical infrastructure first which include hospitals, water and sewer infrastructure.
“The thing that is focused on ... is making sure that the critical infrastructure for our towns...that people have water, sewer and power is back on at hospitals. Then we’re gonna look at the biggest outages and then go down to the smaller ones from there,” Trimble said.
Tyler has the most customers affected in the area which Oncor said is due to its population.
“Oncor personnel are continuing to work around the clock to restore power to customers impacted by Tuesday morning’s severe storms,” the provider said.
While Oncor repair efforts continue, individuals without power are encouraged to examine their home electrical equipment, including the meter base and/or weatherhead, to ensure they have not been damaged or pulled off, the provider said.
“If so, an electrician will need to make repairs and a city inspection may be required before power can be safely restored. After the repairs and inspection are complete, customers can contact Oncor at 888-313-6862 to request a reconnect.”
It is also important to report your outage, just in case. To report an outage or to check the status of the outage in your neighborhood, download the MyOncor app, text OUT to 66267, or call 888-313-4747.
Safety for employees, partner agencies and the public remains Oncor’s No. 1 priority, the provider said.
“If you see a downed power line, please stay away, keep pets and others away and call 911 immediately. In addition to the downed line potentially being energized, anything touching the power line, such as a fence or tree branch, could also be energized. Remember to check on neighbors and elderly or vulnerable residents. Anyone without power should seek alternative accommodations,” Oncor said.
Oncor recommends following additional safety tips, including:
If you see a downed power line, leave the area and call 911. In addition to the downed line potentially being electrified, anything touching the power line, such as a tree branch, could also be electrified. Keep pets, children and others away from the area.
Do not attempt to remove debris and tree limbs from areas near power lines. The debris may be concealing a live wire or downed power line.
Use caution when traveling on the roadways, especially in areas with heavy debris and streetlights without power.
If you are experiencing and emergency event, call 911 immediately.
