As a powerful winter storm surges through Texas, thousands of North Texans have been left without power Saturday, as energy companies race to restore electricity.
About 5,400 Oncor customers in Tarrant County and 1,100 customers in Dallas County were affected by outages, as of 3:10 p.m. Across the state, about 16,400 customers do not have power due to 265 active outages, according to a map from Oncor.
Additional outages are possible, as freezing rain and ice accumulation is expected to intensify, Oncor warned in a statement. Ice accumulation poses the greatest threat to electric services, since it can weigh down on tree limbs, causing them to sag or snap onto power lines.
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The looming storm presents a test for the state’s electric grid, evoking reminders of the deadly 2021 storm. The system collapsed and more than 240 people died.
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Tarrant and Dallas Counties were among the most impacted by outages Saturday afternoon. Elsewhere, about 2,700 customers in Lamar County, located in northeast Texas, were impacted, while Cherokee County in central east Texas has roughly 3,800 customers in need of power.
Oncor did not list an estimate for when electricity will be restored in Tarrant County. Dallas County will have power back on by 8:30 p.m. Saturday.
Oncor, the largest electricity transmission and distribution utility in the state, delivers power to more than 4 million homes and businesses, according to a 2023 company report.
The company has hired or contracted more than 10,000 damage evaluators, lineworkers, tree trimming crew members and workers to respond to local outages as they occur. Restoration efforts will “continue around the clock,” Oncor said in a statement.
To report an outage, Texans can text “OUT” to 66267, call (888)-313-4747, use the MyOncor app, or visit Oncor.com. If they spot a downed power line, they should stay far away and call 911.