Dear Neighbors, 

I spoke with Austin Energy leadership this afternoon and want to provide a brief update. 

As I write this the large scale outages in District 10 appear to have been resolved. I am grateful to the dedicated work of our Austin Energy crews under difficult conditions.

In the Austin-Travis County area we continue to experience an extraordinary weather situation that is projected to extend well into next week. Sustained icing conditions, high winds, the potential for snowfall and extreme temperatures mean some isolated outages continue and it is likely we will continue to experience outages through this period. The reality is that as new weather moves in and lines and trees freeze, more outages may follow. It will remain difficult for Austin Energy with certainty to forecast the timing of power restoration in any given case.

Outage Reporting:

At the peak Austin Energy had over 49,000 outages and as of this afternoon the number was down to roughly 600 outages. I know that many customers were frustrated the last few days because Austin Energy’s outage map did not always accurately reflect the power outages they were experiencing. Austin Energy has assured me the issue has been fixed and as of now the outage map should reflect up-to-date information regarding current outages. Please keep in mind that the outage map captures a snapshot in time and does not provide the dynamics of all the outages Austin Energy is confronting during this extreme weather. If you are interested in a particular property’s status, please use the search bar at the top of the outage map to search by property address. 

It is very important to report outages to Austin Energy by calling (512) 322-9100 or by clicking the ‘Report Outage’ tab on the austinenergy.com homepage, even if it’s only a momentary blink. Our office can elevate broader patterns and communicate problems, but we can't direct Austin Energy to particular streets or houses.

Cold Weather Shelters:

The City of Austin, Travis County, and community partners have activated cold weather shelters (City and County Prepare for Severe Weather | AustinTexas.gov), which will operate 24 hours a day for as long as conditions dictate. Individuals sheltering will be offered the opportunity to remain during the day and a place to stay overnight. The Palmer Events Center has been activated as a daytime warming center, located at 900 Barton Springs Road. We will post any related updates on my Facebook page (Alison Alter for Austin | Facebook).

Ways to Help:

If you have power, you can help by conserving energy as much as possible to reduce the load on the system while Austin Energy works towards power restoration across the city.

If your power is off, you can help us not overwhelm the system when power comes back on. Please lower your thermostats, shut off or unplug any fixtures that are connected, and only leave a light on to know when the power is back on. This way when power is on we can gradually add to the load. One of the challenges is that everyone has all electronics on and when a house is re-energized the surge can overwhelm the system causing circuits to trip back out.

Please check on your home-bound neighbors and seniors. If their power goes out, they may not have an easy way to contact others. Please offer help to them if you can during this time. 

We will continue to monitor the situation through the coming days and we will share updates as we receive them. You also can follow Austin Energy on Facebook and Twitter for more information.

Regards, 

Alison Alter

Council Member, District 10