Dallas' Backup Generators Not Yet Ready Ahead Of Winter Storm
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Millions of Texans lost power last February as temperatures plunged below freezing - and stayed there.
For the city of Dallas, records show the crisis helped identify "a need to maintain a back-up source of power at various facilities throughout Dallas to provide residents with warming and cooling centers in the event of extended power outages during severe weather," according to a report presented to city council in September.
This fall, the council approved a total expense of $2 million for eight fixed generators at select libraries and rec centers and an additional eight mobile power units with generators and heating systems that could be deployed where needed.
"Unfortunately, they will not be ready for this winter," said Dallas' Director of Emergency Management Rocky Vaz. Last month, Vaz told the Council that although the generators have arrived, it will take six to eight months to install them.
Furthermore, "due to ongoing supply chain issues," the city still lacked heaters and trailers for those mobile power units.
Regardless, Vaz says, the city is in better shape than last year.
"We are much better prepared than we were last year for this event. We have warming stations with prepositioned supplies. We have contracts in place. We have water distribution that we have to do," he said.
If there are widespread outages, Vaz says the city is prepared to send out coach busses where needed -- like it did last year -- allowing people a place to sit and get warm. That's not something they expect to have do, but they have these plans just in case.
