DALLAS (February 4, 2023) - As of Saturday evening, power has been restored for the vast majority of Oncor customers affected by a winter storm that caused significant weather impacts throughout most of the central and eastern parts of the state. While our employees, contractor and mutual assistance partners have made great progress, many customers unfortunately remain without power and we will not stop until all repairs have been made and power restored to all customers.
Many customers experienced repeat outages due to re-icing and the multiple waves of sleet and freezing rain, causing significant damage to trees and vegetation which fell or came into contact with power lines. We understand this has compounded frustration for many customers and those that have experienced much longer than normal wait times for restoration.
Your patience and support is greatly appreciated by our men and women that continue working around the clock to get everyone’s power back on. More than 3,000 mutual assistance workers have joined this effort in addition to more than 4,300 Oncor employees and contractors that continue working to restore power and complete repairs as soon as safely possible.
As storm repairs are completed in communities, those resources are being reassigned to areas that continue to experience outages. Customers will likely notice multiple work zones and heavy equipment in the area as crews work as safely and quickly as possible to make repairs. Please keep a safe distance from workers and machinery. Due to extensive damage, not all work may visible from where you’re located. There are many locations where crews must perform repairs further up the power lines that deliver electricity to the area of the outage.
Athens/Jacksonville areas: We anticipate that power will be restored to the majority of customers impacted by the initial storm today.
Tyler/Palestine areas: Your community has experienced heavy damage from ice and trees. Resources have been working in many areas (often not visible from the road) to remove vegetation and debris. Additional resources are in your vicinity assisting with restoration efforts as it may require multiple crews to remove vegetation, repair poles and replace wires.
Round Rock/Taylor/Temple/Killeen and surrounding areas: Your community received some of the heaviest ice accumulation causing significant damage to power lines and poles. Resources have been working in many areas (often not visible from the road) to remove vegetation and debris. Additional resources are in your vicinity today assisting with restoration efforts as it may require multiple crews to remove vegetation, repair poles and replace wires.
As more repairs are made to our infrastructure, some customers may find that they still don’t have power. It is important to remember during severe weather, parts of your home that supply electricity like your meter base, may be damaged and will require a certified electrician to make repairs before Oncor can restore service.
For information on the what equipment Oncor maintains and what equipment you as a homeowner must maintain, click here. If your home’s meter base, weatherhead or other electrical equipment are damaged, contact Oncor at 888.313.6862 and our agents will walk you through the necessary requirements. More information can also be found here.
Customers can report outages and receive updates by downloading the MyOncor App and following Oncor on Facebook and Twitter, or by calling 888.313.4747. If you see a downed power line, stay away, keep people away and call 911 immediately.
Note to Media: Oncor’s online Storm Center map identifies all current outages throughout our service area, which serves more than 13 million Texans in more than 400 communities, making up nearly one-third of the state’s geographic area. Oncor constantly responds to new power outages from a variety of issues throughout the state. It is important to distinguish the cold weather/storm-related outages of this week from separate outage events.