When a sustained outage event occurs, our top priority is to restore power safely and quickly. Oncor immediately mobilizes all available crews and equipment and, if necessary, will ask for assistance from other utilities as part of our mutual assistance program.

 Oncor follows a systematic process to evaluate and restore power. Our restoration philosophy – to safely and quickly restore power to the greatest number of customers – along with improved technology helps us determine where to go and what to repair first.

Here's how the restoration prioritization process typically works:

• Transmission line power outages affect thousands of customers since these high-voltage lines deliver electricity to entire neighborhoods and businesses. Because the loss of a transmission line affects so many, this type of restoration often has the highest priority.

• Public and critical care facilities, such as hospitals and fire stations, are also top priority since these facilities impact lives and first responders.
  
  
• Our next priority would be outages on the distribution system that deliver power to homes and businesses affecting several hundred consumers.
  
  
•  Power outages at single residences or businesses would follow all of the above in priority.

In heavily damaged areas, more complex repairs may be necessary.  In some cases, the meter base to your home or business may have been damaged or pulled off as the result of a storm. If so, you will need to contact an electrician to make the necessary repairs before we can restore power. Power cannot be restored until this is completed. Click here to learn more about what repairs homeowners are responsible for repairing when damaged.