AUSTIN, Texas — Andrew Anstrom has vivid memories of the 2023 winter storm that left Austin covered in ice. He’s the owner of a tree service company and was out helping the community clean up their neighborhoods.
What You Need To Know
The 2023 winter storm caused power outages for over 170,000 Austin Energy customers
Austin Energy has a $735 million plan to improve infrastructure and technology
The plan aims to reduce vegetation-related outages and restore power faster during storms
Officials report that the modernized program is already benefiting the grid
“I was wearing my hard hat just to look because there was stuff actively falling all around me while I was looking,” said Anstrom.
The ice and snow were so heavy that they caused trees to topple over onto homes, cars and power lines. The damage left over 400,000 Texans without power at the peak of the storm. Over 170,000 Austin Energy customers were without electricity, according to Austin Energy. The utility company reported that 10.5 million trees were damaged.
“I was trying to organize this massive relief, and I was working off a tablet with 5G, you know, plugged into a Toyota Prius in my driveway, acting like a little generator. Just trying to keep things going, you know, without any power or internet,” said Anstrom.
Back in December 2024, Austin leaders held a press conference about winter weather preparations. Former Austin Energy General Manager Bob Kahn spoke at the conference and talked about the destruction that followed the 2023 storm.
“There may have been some tree trimming that we may have done better,” said Kahn at a press conference in 2024.
After more than a year of analyzing costs and conducting studies, Austin Energy announced a $735 million plan that does more than just trim trees to prevent future outages because of ice storms. The plan calls for hardening existing infrastructure, so if a tree does fall, its less likely to cause the power to go out. It’s also deploying new technology that will help restore power faster if a blackout does occur.
Over two years since the ice brought the city to a standstill, Austin Energy officials said their modernized program is leading to improvements.
“The modernized program targets the most critical areas of the service territory, decreasing vegetation-related outages and supporting continuous power service. Our grid is already seeing benefits from this effort and we believe that will be the case again should we have winter storm conditions this weekend,” said Matt Mitchell, media public information officer at Austin Energy, in a statement.