AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Energy General Manager Jacqueline Sargent gave an update on power restoration efforts during a virtual news conference Thursday afternoon.
She said the situation is improving. About 220,000 customers were without power during the height of the ERCOT-mandated outages Tuesday morning. Since then, Austin Energy has been able to restore power to several thousand customers, Sargent reported.
“Our crews, our team will not stop until every household, every customer has had power restored,” she said.
Right now, she said ERCOT is not mandating outages, but as weather conditions change, those could be implemented again. She explained if this happens, as long as the requirement isn’t too excessive, they’ll be able to conduct rotating outages until the power can be fully restored.
Crews are prioritizing customers who have been without power the longest.
“Unfortunately, I can’t give you a firm answer on when your power will be back,” Sargent said. “I truly wish that I could.”
For those whose power is going in and out, Sargent explained if they power everyone back up at the same time the system will become overloaded and will trip off.
“Just like we shut the system down in sections, we have to restore the system in sections,” she said.
One of the main battles crews are facing is ice covering and adding additional weight to power lines, power equipment and vegetation. This can cause even more outages.
“I wish that bringing everyone back online was as easy as flipping a switch or pushing a button, but it’s not,” she said.
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