Oncor: Ice Accumulation The Leading Cause Of Power Outages Across North Texas

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) — Officials with Oncor say crews have been out accessing damage and working to pinpoint and restore power in areas since the arctic front moved into North Texas.

Workers are being supported by more than 1,700 mutual assistance personnel from 10 states. While freezing temperatures and hazardous road conditions are challenging crews, Oncor says they will continue to work 24 hours-a-day as long as weather conditions allow.

As of 5:00 a.m., there were some 30,000 Oncor customers without power. A majority of those outages – about 24,000 – are in the Dallas metro area and adjacent north and northeast counties.

The winter storm is also having a big impact in the northern and western regions of the Oncor service area, with approximately 5,000 outages near the Red River and 1,000 in the Permian Basin.

Freezing temperatures, snow, sleet, rain and wind gusts of up to 30 mph are being experienced in parts of the state. Those conditions have led to ¼ to ½ an inch of ice accumulation in some areas and has caused the most problems with electric service.

Officials with Oncor say ice can increase the weight of tree branches by up to 30 times, causing limbs to sag or break onto power lines. Increased ice and wind impacts are expected across North Texas Thursday morning.

Oncor is encouraging customers to keep the following safety tips in mind:

• If you see a downed power line, leave the area and call 911. Also note that anything touching a power line, such as a tree branch, could also be electrified. Stay away and keep pets, children and others away from the area.
• Do not attempt to remove debris and tree limbs from areas near power lines. The debris may be concealing a live wire or downed power line.
• Avoid travel or use extreme caution when on the roadways.
• If you are experiencing and emergency event, call 911 immediately.
• For local, individual and family resources, check out the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM)'s February Winter Weather 2022 webpage.

Customers can report outages by through the MyOncor app, by texting OUT to 66267, visiting Oncor.com or by calling 888-313-4747.