More than 35,000 Austin Energy customers are still without power after last week’s ice storm.
It’s been cold in Texas this past week.
Freezing rain, snow and ice created dangerous conditions for drivers in various parts of the state.
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#blizzard inside #Dallas #Texas Later today sliding cars were sent across the street #Freeze made up #ice road. #TxWx #winter storm pic.twitter.com/qiJuB5oXRK
— WxChasing – Brandon Clemms (@bclemms) January 31, 2023
Hundreds of thousands of Texas homes and businesses were without power after last week’s storm.
Austin Energy began restoring power Friday and they don’t yet know when power will be fully restored.
Hundreds of thousands of residents have been without power for more than four days.
Crews are working an end-to-end circuit and making all necessary repairs to restore power to as many customers as possible at a time It is taking a while to complete. Crews should patrol and visually inspect the line for damage. https://t.co/cz8qErrGoF
— Austin Energy (@austinenergy) February 4, 2023
On Sunday, Austin Energy provided charging buses for customers still without power.
We have a charging bus @ Burger Center 3200 Jones Rd until 5pm today (southeast of football stadium).
📱 Charge your phone and other devices (bring your own cord)
⚕️ Charge medical devices
ℹ️ Learn about our medically frail program and financial assistance options pic.twitter.com/AZPEGuGsNZ— Austin Energy (@austinenergy) February 5, 2023
KUT reported:
Austin Energy said it estimates power will be fully restored by Sunday night, the utility’s general manager said.
“I’m sorry it’s taking so long,” Jackie Sargent said at an afternoon news conference. More than 35,000 Austin Energy customers were still without power after last week’s storm.
City Manager Spencer Cronk said strong winds expected Tuesday could cause more tree limbs to fall on power lines and cause more outages.
“It’s important to know that trees are still vulnerable after a winter storm, and they may have broken limbs that are on top of the branches that you can’t see,” Cronk said. He advised residents to avoid parking or standing under trees.
Asked about rebates to customers due to power outages, Sargent said the utility would not provide them because the loss was due to a natural disaster. Cronk said, however, the city will explore options.
“But that will come over time,” he said, “as we evaluate both what it’s worth and what we can deliver to our citizens.”