SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio city officials and utility representatives held a news conference on Saturday morning to provide an update on cold-weather response efforts.
Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones said the city wants to reassure the community about the work being done and the resources available to those who may need a warm place to stay.
“First and foremost, the best thing that we can do for our community is to make sure that we’re being smart,” Jones said. “So let me encourage folks, if you don’t need to travel, if you don’t need to travel over the next kind of 48 hours, please minimize that.”
Jones also reminded the community that six resilience hubs are available and open to the public. The centers are currently open starting now through noon on Monday. Click here to view those centers.
San Antonians who need transportation to any of the centers can call 311 for free VIA rides, City Manager Erik Walsh said.
Pets are also allowed at the resilience and warming centers, Jones said.
Walsh said the Bode and Tobin community centers opened up Saturday morning and will remain open through noon on Tuesday.
Corazon Ministries, Catholic Worker House, Communities Under the Bridge, and New Direction Church are partners the city is working with to help people experiencing homelessness.
“We have a capacity for just under 500 individuals that are in need of those services,” Walsh said. “Our outreach workers have began several days ago the outreach and will continue as we go through the weekend to be able to provide folks that assistance.”
Rudy Garza with CPS Energy said they are prepared and have been working all week to understand what the forecast will look like.
“There’s plenty of power in the ERCOT market, so plenty of generation to keep the lights on,” Garza said.
Garza said that if someone has an outage, it may be a localized issue due to wind or something else. CPS Energy will communicate if there’s an issue on the ERCOT system.
“Please don’t assume it’s a broader issue,” Garza said. … “We are not expecting anything other than a little bit of cold, and we’re prepared to do our jobs.”
Gas customers are also encouraged to contact CPS Energy if they smell gas in and around their homes. Customers can reach them at 210-353-2222.
TxDOT has deployed more than 300 workers to pre-treat roads with brine, a saltwater mixture that prevents ice from bonding to pavement, according to Texas Department of Transportation San Antonio District Engineer Charles Benavidez.
“At the start of this event, we had almost 800,000 gallons of brine on hand, and we will continue to produce more as needed,” Benavidez said. “We work closely with other state agencies to track the forecast.”
For updates and resources, residents can click here or call 311 for assistance.
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