What's happening
The National Weather Service issued both wind chill and freeze warnings Jan. 15, advising that cold temperatures and wind chill values as low as zero to -10 degrees Fahrenheit could persist through the morning on Jan. 16.
As low temperatures test electrical delivery equipment, some Williamson County customers of Oncor are experiencing power outages. As of 2 p.m. Jan. 15, the power utility's service area, which covers much of North and Central Texas, reported a total of around 350 outages. Around 60 of these outages are within Williamson County, the utility provider's outage map shows, with a few in Travis County and none noted in Bastrop County.
Area Manager Casey Simpson told Community Impact the majority of these reported outages are due to the combination of long periods of low temperatures and higher usage.
"We see this more often during the first significant freeze of a season due to a variety of potential reasons," Simpson said. "For example, equipment has not been stressed in temperatures this low in over a year; equipment may be working with additional load from increased customer growth, or previous damage—such as a lightning strike or other storm impact—may have weakened parts of the device."
What you need to know
Simpson said Oncor crews are working to respond to outages quickly and safely. He said the repairs made now will help fortify the electricity provider's systems for the rest of the season.
With the NWS forecasting colder than typical temperatures to persist through Jan. 16, Simpson said more outages are a possibility for residents of impacted areas.
"Typically, we will continue to see some outages throughout the extreme temperature event, but hopefully they will become fewer and fewer as the event weakens," he said.
