More than 35,000 Austin Energy customers are still without power after last week’s ice storm.
Texas got hit with a cold snap last week.
Freezing rain, sleet and ice created dangerous conditions for drivers across parts of the state.
WATCH:
#icestorm in #Dallas #Texas sent cars sliding all over the road today after #freezingrain made #icyroads. #TxWx #WinterStorm pic.twitter.com/qiJuB5oXRK
— WxChasing- Brandon Clement (@bclemms) January 31, 2023
Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in Texas were without power after last week’s storm.
Austin Energy began restoring power on Friday and they still don’t know when power will be fully restored.
Tens of thousands of residents have been without power for more than 4 days.
Crews are working on an entire circuit from end to end and making all the necessary repairs possible to get the most customers’ power back on at a time. This is taking a while to complete. The crew has to patrol and visually inspect the line for damage. https://t.co/cz8qErrGoF
— Austin Energy (@austinenergy) February 4, 2023
Austin Energy on Sunday provided charging buses for customers who still don’t have power.
We have a charging bus @ Burger Center 3200 Jones Rd today until 5PM (southeast side of the football stadium)
📱 Charge your phone & other devices (bring your own cords)
⚕️ Charge medical devices
ℹ️ Learn about our Medically Vulnerable Program and financial assistance options pic.twitter.com/AZPEGuGsNZ— Austin Energy (@austinenergy) February 5, 2023
KUT reported:
Austin Energy said it would give an approximate time for power to be completely restored by Sunday night, the utility’s general manager said.
“I’m sorry for how long this is taking,” 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 lead to more tree limbs falling on power lines and more outages.
“It’s important to know that trees are still vulnerable after the winter storm, and they may have broken limbs that are high up in the branches that you cannot see,” Cronk said. He advised residents to avoid parking or standing under trees.
When asked about customer rebates because of the power outages, Sargent said the utility wouldn’t provide them because the damage was due to a natural disaster. Cronk said, however, that the city would explore options.
“But that will come over the course of time,” he said, “as we do the assessment of both how much this costs and what we can provide to our citizens.”
