Weather
Austin Residents Could Be Without Power Beyond Wednesday
As more than 185,000 residents remain without power due to the ice storm, Austin Energy encourages people to prioritize safety and family.
AUSTIN, TX — More than 185,000 local residents remain without power Wednesday as outages caused by this week’s ice storm, which continues to devastate the area.
Austin Energy officials said on social media Wednesday that residents should expect to remain without power throughout the day and "possibly longer." Officials said that the region remains under two emergency events and still has controlled outages to help maintain ERCOT’s electric grid.
Officials said that customers who do have power so far still may be affected by the ice storm and that residents should watch for downed power lines and tree limbs.
Find out what's happening in Austinfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
What to know this morning: If you've had power during the controlled outage, you could be impacted by the ice storm Customers who have sustained outages should expect outages to continue until the situation improves. (2/4)
— Austin Energy (@austinenergy) February 17, 2021
Customers should be prepared to not have power through Wednesday and possibly longer. Be careful of downed tree limbs and downed power lines. (3/4)
— Austin Energy (@austinenergy) February 17, 2021
“With prolonged outages, customers should prioritize their safety and family,” Austin Energy officials wrote on Twitter.
On Wednesday, ERCOT officials said they are working to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. In a statement, officials said ERCOT was able to restore approximately 3,500 megawatts of load, which is roughly 700,000 households, across Texas.
Find out what's happening in Austinfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“We know millions of people are suffering,” ERCOT President and CEO Bill Magness said in the statement. “We have no other priority than getting them electricity. No other priority.”
As of 9 a.m., ERCOT is instructing local utilities across Texas to shed 14,000 megawatts of load representing around 2.8 million households.
“Although we’ve reconnected more consumers back to the grid, the aggregate energy consumption of customers (those recently turned back on and those already on) is actually lower this morning compared to yesterday because it’s less cold,” ERCOT Senior Director of System Operations Dan Woodfin said in a statement. “However, we are anticipating another cold front this evening which could increase the demand.”
The city is offering shelters and residents in need of transportation may call 311, officials said. Shelters are available at:
- Palmer Events Center, 900 Barton Springs Road
- Mendez Middle School, 5106 Village Square Drive
- Northeast Early College High School, 7104 Berkman Drive
- Del Valle High School, 5201 Ross Road, Del Valle
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
