Texas power outage numbers decrease to under 12,000 as Oncor responds to winter storm
The number of power outages in Texas continued to decrease Thursday evening with fewer than 12,000 reported to Oncor at 11 p.m. Thursday.
At 2:45 p.m. the number was approximately 19,900, a decrease from around noon which had over 26,000 reports.
The highest number of outages during the winter storm, which hit the state Wednesday evening, was overnight Wednesday at 34,000.
Tarrant County had more than 1,800 reported customers without power at 10:50 p.m. Thursday. Most were reported in the 76013 zip code, which saw 1,688 customers without electricity. Oncor did not list a reason or when they expected to have power restored.
The figure was up from 8:50 p.m., when Oncor reported 226 Tarrant County customers without power.
Dallas County had 670 reported customers without power as of 11 p.m.
Hunt County maintains the highest number of power outages in North Texas with more than 4,200 Oncor customers reporting outages. Colin County has the second highest in the region with more than 1,900 reported outages. Both counties saw outage numbers decrease from 5,800 and 5,400, respectively, reported around noon.
Bell County went from 2,100 outages at 7:45 p.m. to 116 by 11 p.m. Thursday.
“We recognize the stresses and hardships our customers without power are facing, especially during this severe cold weather,” Oncor said in a company statement. “Nearly 6,000 Oncor employees and contractors have been working to restore power as quickly and safely as possible, and this work will continue around the clock.”
Ahead of the winter storm, Oncor brought in additional resources and utility workers from across 10 other states to assist with power restoration efforts. By Thursday afternoon, Oncor reported over 1,700 out-of-state utility workers helping with restoration efforts, an increase from the initial 1,500 personnel they announced on Wednesday.
The company posted to its social media page Thursday that freezing temperatures and hazardous road conditions posed a challenge to crews, but that they would continue working 24 hours with weather permitting.
“Freezing temperatures, snow, sleet, rain and wind gusts of up to 30 mph are still being experienced in parts of the state,” Oncor said Thursday morning. “These conditions have led to 1/4 to 1/2 an inch of ice accumulation in some areas and are posing the greatest impact to electric service.”
Oncor customers can report outages and receive updates by registering for MyOncor text alerts by texting “REG” to 66267, downloading the MyOncor App, following Oncor on Facebook and Twitter, or by calling 888-313-4747.
This story was originally published February 3, 2022 at 9:07 AM.
