Oncor power outages: Electricity restoration to be 'substantially complete' by Friday
DALLAS - Oncor crews are making slow and steady progress in restoring the power to hundreds of thousands of North Texas, but it warns could be a few more days before everyone’s lights are back on.
As of Friday at 9 a.m., there are still about 127,000 Oncor customers in North Texas without power, with the vast majority of affected customers in Dallas County.
East Dallas, Lake Highlands and parts of Richardson have the most outages.
The utility company brought 5,000 linemen from eight states to help.
But that’s significant progress since Tuesday morning after severe storms took out trees and power lines. Oncor reported up to 650,000 outages once the rain and wind calmed.
"Oncor teams quickly mobilized, sought the assistance of mutual assistance partners, and have been working since early Tuesday morning to restore power," Oncor said in an update. "We estimate that restoration will be substantially complete by Friday evening, weather permitting. Harder hit areas are expected to be restored Saturday."
During a news conference Tuesday, Oncor officials explained the necessary repairs aren’t simple. Some areas will need to have transformers and power lines completely reconstructed. And with more stormy weather in the forecast, the process could take days to complete.
Oncor said its focus is restoring power to places like police stations and healthcare facilities first.
Officials also reminded people to assume downed power lines are energized and avoid them.
Cleanup efforts underway in Dallas County
The city of Dallas has established an incident management team specifically dedicated to debris response.
Residents are asked to call 311 to report downed trees or debris removal to get the cleanup process started.
In the Lake Highlands neighborhood of Dallas, outdoor activities have become a way for residents still without power to pass the time.
Leah Fritz is one of an estimated 120,000 Dallas residents still in the dark following Tuesday morning's severe storms with hurricane-force winds.
"Yeah, our nerves get frayed. It's a lot for sure, but we're making the most of it," she said.
Neighbor Dixie Beck and her husband are also feeling the heat.
"We've had several friends offer to have us come by and stay with them," she said. "But we're not to that point yet."
As the cleanup continues, the Dallas Office of Emergency Management is asking residents to move all debris curbside.
"We need them in two piles: a vegetative pile and one other for storm debris such as building materials," explained Dallas OEM Director Travis Houston. "They can't be intermixed."
Houston says 42 crews are working on a 24-hour basis to remove debris as quickly as possible. As of Wednesday afternoon, crews had 1,600 service requests.
Due to the significant amount of damage from Tuesday’s storm, city officials say it could take up to at least a month for all piles to be picked up.
Street traffic is also a logistics nightmare.
Crews are working to repair approximately 250 signals that are either flashing or without power.
Oncor Energy says utility crews are working as quickly as possible, but don't get excited if the lights come on a few streets down.
"Right now, the damage is so widespread that we can't point to one specific area and say it will take longer than another," said Oncor spokesperson Grant Cruise.
Oncor says widespread damage has blocked progress for its crews.
"Access remains a major issue we are facing," Cruise said. "A lot of vegetation management crews are arriving in the area."
List: Cooling centers for North Texans without power
The North Texas cities that were hardest hit by Tuesday’s storms have opened cooling centers for residents still without electricity.
We were talking to Hal Naboshek as his home came back online. He says that’s one big problem solved.
"Power is on, finally. I got to see what the groceries looked like in the refrigerator. That's the problem," he said.
Philip Mein says he’s still in the dark on how many more sleeps until his power comes back on in East Dallas and how long his groceries will last, making multiple trips to get ice.
"I need to get more if they still have it. Everyone is loading up, of course," he said.
From Little Forest Hills to Casa Linda Estates, multiple East Dallas neighborhoods are without electricity.
Near North Buckner Boulevard and Ferguson, homes were taped off due to downed power lines entangled in trees.
Meanwhile, no power means a pool day for 3-year-old Charlie. Her mom, Caity Rodriguez, is trying to pass the time.
"I work in Irving. So I went to my school, and my district is closed," she said. "We charged everything, all the phones and iPads. We went to Target, Lowes and Home Depot, and we found our fans that are battery operated."
Oncor remains hopeful most power will be restored by Friday night.