Thousands remain without power and Oncor said restoration will be a multi-day effort. Personnel from multiple other states has been brought in to assist.
The power provider restored power to more than 340,000 customers less than 24 hours after a storm system moved through Dallas-Fort Worth area and continued into the eastern portions of its service area, including East Texas. The storm caused significant damage to the provider's system and more than 650,000 customer outages.
Oncor teams have been working to restore power since early Tuesday. It estimates restoration will be substantially complete by Friday evening, "weather permitting." Harder hit areas are expected to be restored Saturday.
Over 7,500 Smith County customers remained without power as of 2 p.m. Wednesday. In Cherokee, over 2,600 were still without power; 3,135 in Van Zandt County, 2,079 in Anderson and 1,161 in Henderson County.
Tom Trimble, Oncor's customer service East region manager, said after the storms made their way through East Texas roughly 67,000 local Oncor customers were impacted.
"We were sitting around about 67,000 customers ... this is a multi day restoration effort," Trimble said in an interview with CBS19.
Oncor said it focuses on getting power back to critical infrastructure first which include hospitals, water and sewer infrastructure.
"The thing that is focused on ... is making sure that the critical infrastructure for our towns...that people have water, sewer and power is back on at hospitals. Then we're gonna look at the biggest outages and then go down to the smaller ones from there," Trimble said.
Tyler has the most customers affected in the area which Oncor says is due to its population.
"Oncor personnel are continuing to work around the clock to restore power to customers impacted by Tuesday morning’s severe storms," the provider said. "... Nearly 5,000 additional personnel and mutual assistance have been deployed to support these efforts from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina and Virginia."
Teams are working 16-hour shifts around the clock. While they continue to restore power, their efforts have been hindered by flooding, fallen trees and other debris, which has caused access issues and poor driving conditions. In heavily damaged areas, wide swaths of power lines and distribution equipment are not only being repaired but must also be reconstructed, the company said.
In these areas, Oncor teams are "facing complex repairs like removing uprooted trees and debris and replacing damaged utility poles and transformers before we can install new power lines," according to the company.
While Oncor repair efforts continue, individuals without power are encouraged to examine their home electrical equipment, including the meter base and/or weatherhead, to ensure they have not been damaged or pulled off, the provider said.
"If so, an electrician will need to make repairs and a city inspection may be required before power can be safely restored. After the repairs and inspection are complete, customers can contact Oncor at 888.313.6862 to request a reconnect."
The company said it recognizes "the hardships and inconveniences customers experience after severe storms like this one and remains focused on restoring power as quickly and safely as possible.
"We greatly appreciate the patience and understanding of our customers and remain focused on doing all we can to restore the remaining outages as quickly and safely as possible," Oncor said.
Safety for employees, partner agencies and the public remains Oncor’s No. 1 priority, it said.
"If you see a downed power line, please stay away, keep pets and others away and call 911 immediately. In addition to the downed line potentially being energized, anything touching the power line, such as a fence or tree branch, could also be energized. Remember to check on neighbors and elderly or vulnerable residents. Anyone without power should seek alternative accommodations," Oncor said.
Oncor recommends following additional safety tips, including:
If you see a downed power line, leave the area and call 911. In addition to the downed line potentially being electrified, anything touching the power line, such as a tree branch, could also be electrified. 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.
Use caution when traveling on the roadways, especially in areas with heavy debris and streetlights without power.
If you are experiencing and emergency event, call 911 immediately.
To report a power outage or to check the status of an outage, download the MyOncor app, text OUT to 66267, or call 888-313-4747. View the latest outage map here.
