Texas power grid faces significant strain as winter storm leaves more than 130,000 customers in the dark across the state, with outages continuing to climb throughout Sunday morning.
As temperatures plummeted across the Lone Star State, Oncor — Texas’ largest electric utility provider — reported approximately 23,700 customers without power in North Texas alone by noon Sunday. The outages weren’t distributed evenly, with Dallas County showing 894 customers affected and neighboring Tarrant County logging 821 outages.
The situation deteriorated rapidly throughout the morning. Earlier reports showed about 21,000 Oncor customers without electricity statewide, with the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex accounting for roughly 4,000 of those outages. By 10 a.m., that number had jumped to over 24,000 Oncor customers without power.
Rural counties hit hardest
While urban areas struggled, it was the rural counties that bore the brunt of the storm’s impact. Nacogdoches County led with nearly 13,000 outages, followed closely by Cherokee County with over 12,300 and Shelby County with approximately 11,380 customers in the dark.
“Customers can also sign up for MyOncor alerts by texting REG to 66267 and we will send them personalized notifications… about outage impacts to their specific address,” said Andrew Clark, an Oncor spokesperson, who also advised residents to prepare for potential extended outages. “Put together a family emergency plan, as well as storm safety kit, blankets, bottled water… flashlights, just in case you need to withstand an extended time without power,” Clark added.
How bad is the situation beyond Texas? The winter storm’s effects weren’t limited to the Lone Star State, with nationwide power outages exceeding 730,000 as of 9 a.m. Sunday. That’s a significant increase from earlier reports that had tallied nearly 300,000 customers affected across multiple states.
Snow continues to accumulate
The power issues come as meteorologists continue to track the storm’s progress. KOCO 5 Chief Meteorologist Damon Lane provided updates on snow totals in a recent broadcast, showing the winter storm’s persistent intensity.
For residents facing outages, the timing couldn’t be worse. With temperatures remaining below freezing in many affected areas, households without electricity face not just inconvenience but potential safety risks as heating systems fail.
The situation brings back uncomfortable memories for many Texans who endured the catastrophic February 2021 power crisis that left millions without electricity for days during subfreezing temperatures. Though current outages haven’t reached that scale, the growing numbers throughout Sunday have left many wondering just how prepared the state’s infrastructure really is for winter weather.
