It could be as long as a week before power is fully restored.
Over the weekend, Texas was subjected to a powerful ice storm with intense winds and low temperatures. This storm caused direct and indirect damage to power lines around the state, leaving residents without power in the freezing cold.
In the capital of Austin in particular, over 150,000 citizens lost their power. Austin Energy deployed repair personnel over the weekend, and have managed to restore a large part of the system. Even so, at least 30,000 Austin Energy customers are still without power, and may remain as such for at least another week.
“We are now focusing on the most complicated & time-consuming restoration efforts. Incoming wind & rain will pose additional challenges,” Austin Energy announced in a tweet. “Based on current information, we expect to restore power to nearly all remaining customers by Sunday, Feb. 12.”
Watch: Austin officials give an update on widespread power outages. Listen at KUT 90.5 FM.https://t.co/Ns0jTwxlFz
— KUT Austin (@KUT) February 3, 2023
While the worst of the storm has passed, the city is still experiencing intense winds, which is making power line repair difficult. In the worst case, more trees or branches may fall on already-repaired line, complicating matters further.
“I’m sorry for how long this is taking,” Austin Energy General Manager Jackie Sargent said at a press conference on Sunday. She added that the company will likely not be able to provide rebates to customers for time without power due to the nature of the damage, though the matter is still under discussion.