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February 18, 2021 - This week has been historic in terms of the severity of the weather across the state. I am praying for the safety of our community and our state.
Here are five things happening around your state:
1. Winter weather cripples Texas
A large winter system blew through Texas this week dropping 6-8 inches of snow and ice in parts of the state and leaving millions without power for days at a time. Freezing temperatures coupled with water and snow on the roads lead to iced out conditions, impassable roads, and multiple, lasting road closures. These conditions led to a shutdown of most businesses, including the state legislature which cancelled all of the scheduled hearings this week. Those hearings will be rescheduled at a later date. Local officials and power suppliers have been working hard to get Texans’ power back online.
The governor announced at a press conference this week that he ordered natural gas producers not to export any natural gas outside of the state until after this crisis is over to allow power generators to continue working. Additionally, he encouraged Texans to start reaching out to plumbers to plan repairs if pipes burst in your home. He encouraged the Board of Plumbing Examiners to grant provisional licenses to out-of-state plumbers and those who have let their license lapse in the past two years.
2. ERCOT and why Texas has its own electric grid
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) runs Texas’ electric grid. ERCOT was formed in 1970 and was tasked with managing grid reliability in accordance with national standards. Importantly, ERCOT is an entity that is unique to Texas as our electric grid is entirely within our borders, so it is not regulated by the federal government. Most of Texas is covered by ERCOT, except for El Paso, northern parts of the panhandle, and parts of Southeast Texas – including the majority of Senate District 3. The ERCOT grid remains beyond federal regulation because it is not under the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s jurisdiction as FERC can only regulate interstate electric transmission. Though Texas’ grid remains independent, it does have ties to other grids including Mexico’s power grid and a few connections to the Eastern Interconnection through Oklahoma. Texas’ grid has its roots in the way electric utilities developed in the early 20th century. Small plants sprouted up throughout Texas as a way to supply power to the cities. They began linking to each other and furthered these connections during WWII to move power from dams along rivers to power factories that were helping with the war effort. These combined efforts formed the Texas Interconnected System, which eventually became ERCOT.
3. Texas ranked #1 exporter for 19th year in a row
Texas was ranked the number one exporter of all goods and products in the United States for the 19th year in a row. Texas ended 2020 with $279 billion in export trade, which is more exports than the next three highest ranked states combined, including California, New York, and Louisiana. Texas also ranked number one in exporting technology products for the eighth year in a row. Those exports totaled $44.8 billion. This is just another reason Texas is the number one state for business.
4. Senate Business and Commerce Committee to host hearing on ERCOT, power outages
Due to the failures of the ERCOT system and power outages across the state, Business and Commerce committee chair Senator Kelly Hancock has called a hearing of the Senate Business and Commerce Committee to investigate extreme weather preparedness and circumstances that led to the widespread power outages as directed by ERCOT. The committee will also examine generator preparedness and performance, natural gas supply, the reliability of renewables during this crisis, and overall ERCOT resilience. The committee will meet on February 25th at 9am in the Capitol building. To tune into this hearing, please visit https://senate.texas.gov/events.php.
5. Best practices during winter storm
During this extreme weather event, it’s important to keep in mind some best practices to ensure the health and safety of you and your community. Keep your thermostat at 68 degrees or lower if possible to conserve energy. Draw your curtains to preserve heat. Try and reduce your electric footprint by unplugging devices not in use. If you lose power, do not bring in any grills or outdoor cooking devices to heat your home or run your car in your garage. That can cause carbon monoxide poisoning which is a silent killer. Wear loose layers of clothing. Go to a warming shelter if possible. Find those at https://tdem.texas.gov/warm/.
February 18, 2021, 1:15pm - SWEPCO workers and contractors early Thursday began checking on damage and mobilizing crews to restore service to the 22,600 customers without power.
"As we saw the forecast for ice move south, we positioned workers in Shreveport, Natchitoches and Center. These line, tree and support workers are out assessing damaging and restoring power," said Drew Seidel, SWEPCO vice president of Region Distribution Operations.
SWEPCO has 1,500 internal and external resources working in our hardest-hit areas. Additional crews called to help SWEPCO were unable to reach our staging areas due to hazardous road conditions.
The areas most affected by the winter storm include DeSoto, Natchitoches and Sabine parishes and Shelby County, Texas.
SWEPCO estimates power will be restored for 95% of customers by the following times:
- Caddo and Bossier parishes – 10 p.m. Friday
- Center, Texas – 10 p.m. Friday
- Bienville, DeSoto, Grant, Natchitoches, Red River, Sabine, Vernon, Webster and Winn parishes – 10 p.m. Monday
Thousands of customers will see service restored each day. Restoration in heavily-damaged areas will continue into next week.
How SWEPCO Restores Power
SWEPCO prioritizes restoration efforts to safely get the largest number of customers on in the shortest amount of time and addresses restoration in these four steps:
First, assess damage and restore critical services, such as hospitals and fire departments
Second, restore outages that affect large groups of customers
Third, fix problems that affect smaller numbers of customers and
Fourth, make repairs that affect individual customers.
How to Report, Track Outages
- Log on to SWEPCO.com to report an outage and to sign up for text and email updates, including an estimated time of restoration.
- Use the SWEPCO app, available for download via the App Store or Google Play.
- Call 1-888-218-3919 to report your outage.
- Visit SWEPCO.com/OutageMap to find detailed information without logging into your account.
Stay Safe
- Assume that any downed utility line is energized. Stay away and keep children and pets away from downed lines. Report it immediately to SWEPCO at 1-888-218-3919.
- Be extremely careful when using any alternate forms of heating, cooking and lighting.
- If you use a portable or RV generator, do not plug the generator into your circuit box. Portable generators can "backfeed" electricity up the line and risk the lives of repair workers and the public. Follow the manufacturers' instructions carefully, and plug essential appliances directly into the generator.
If your power goes out
- If you lose power, please turn off heating, water heating and large appliances to enable smoother service restoration. Once power is restored, switch the devices back on gradually over the following 30 to 45 minutes. Taking this step helps prevent a sudden surge in demand after power is restored, which could result in a second outage.
For updates and photos, follow SWEPCO on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
About Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO)
SWEPCO, an American Electric Power (AEP: NYSE) company, serves more than 543,000 customers in northwest and central Louisiana, northeast Texas and the Texas Panhandle, and western Arkansas. SWEPCO's headquarters are in Shreveport, La. News releases and other information about SWEPCO can be found at SWEPCO.com. Connect with us at Facebook.com/SWEPCO, Twitter.com/SWEPCOnews, Instagram.com/swepco, Youtube.com/SWEPCOtv and LinkedIn.com/company/swepco.
February 17, 2021 - Unfortunately, today’s update brings unwelcome news.
DETEC is currently reporting approximately 22,000 meters without power. This is 50% of the DETEC system. All outages now are due to ice accumulation. Half an inch of ice can add as much as 500 pounds to a power line, and damage can begin when accumulations exceed a quarter of an inch. Additional weight can be applied if a tree branch breaks off and rests on it, increasing the potential for the power line to come down. Rolling blackouts and load issues are no longer the primary issues as much damage to the system has occurred now.
Crews are fighting a loosing battle trying to restore power in the current conditions, but they continue to work to the best of their ability. We will have crews work until dark today as the road conditions will deteriorate as the temperature drops.
In full transparency we have as much damage, if not more, as we did from prior hurricanes. At this time, we estimate that power restoration may take up to 3 weeks to complete.
Due to the amount of outage calls coming in, our phone system has been unable to keep up. We are aware of these issues and have escalated this concern to the appropriate channels. We hope to have this issue resolved soon.
If you are dependent upon electricity for medical needs, seek an alternate location. Call 911 for medical emergencies, do not wait it out for the power to be restored. The Texas grid issues are too fragile, and the weather is too extreme to risk depending upon a quick restoration process.
We know what you are going through because the employees of your co-op and their families are going through this with you. As always, we will work as quickly and as safely as possible. Together, we will overcome yet another blow that Mother Nature has issued us. Please check on our neighbors, especially the elderly and those with children.
February 17, 2021 - Due to the emergency alert Eastex Telephone Co-op sent out below, City of Huxley phone lines will be down, including the emergency phone line. If you have a gas or water emergency and cannot reach us at 936-368-2377, please contact the Sheriff's Department at 936-598-5601 or dial 911.***
EMERGENCY ALERT FOR HUXLEY EXCHANGE CUSTOMERS
Due to ongoing power outages in the Deep East Texas Council of Governments (DETCOG) region, our telephone and internet facilities served out of our Huxley exchange central office are currently being supported by battery backup power only. This backup power is not expected to last beyond 5 PM given the current and projected freezing conditions. Due to the extreme remote nature of the Huxley central office and current dangerous, icy road conditions, Eastex personnel are unable to reach this central office to deploy additional backup generators. This means that when the current battery backup runs out of power, all internet and telephone services supported by this central office will cease functioning, and customers served by this office will lose internet service as well as their ability to make or receive telephone calls via their landline phone, including calls to 911.
Eastex is coordinating with DETCOG as well as local 911 authorities in the Huxley exchange area to alert them to this situation and take all reasonable measures to assist customers in this area. If you have any emergency medical needs or require emergency assistance and do not have any reliable means to contact emergency responders other than your landline telephone service, please contact 9-1-1 as soon as possible to request assistance.
If you have questions about this alert, you may contact our Henderson business office toll-free at 800-232-7839. Please leave a detailed recording with your name, the telephone number associated with your landline service, and your service address. We are monitoring all calls while our business office is closed, and will respond to all messages as quickly as possible.
February 17, 2021 - The Texas DSHS Covid-19 Dashboard reports 1 new death and 124 active cases on Wednesday, February 17, 2021.
Of the new cases reported, 1 was a new confirmed case and 1 was a new probable case. The dashboard also shows 4 additional recoveries.
February 17th (12:35pm) Numbers:
Total Confirmed Cases - 858 (1 new case)
Total Probable Cases - 648 (1 new case)
Total Fatalities - 51 (1 new)
Total Estimated Active Cases - 124
Total Estimated Recovered - 1,331 (4 new)
February 17, 2021 – Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO) is ready to begin damage assessment and power restoration as today’s winter storm brings freezing rain, ice, sleet and snow to the Ark-La-Tex. SWEPCO anticipates significant damage to the electric system and the potential for extended power outages.
Approximately 2,700 utility line, tree and support personnel from 15 states and Canada will assist company resources with power restoration. Workers will be positioned in Shreveport, Bossier City, Natchitoches/Mansfield, Longview and Texarkana.
Ice storms can be slowly developing events with new outages occurring over many hours. We expect extremely hazardous road conditions and difficult access to damaged utility equipment.
How SWEPCO Restores Power
As soon as it is safe to do so, we will begin clearing immediate hazards, like downed power lines, and assessing damage. You may see our trucks traveling through your area and then leave. These workers are looking for damage and access for line workers and tree crews. Other crews will be dispatched to repair the power lines and facilities.
Our first priority is restoring service to hospitals, police and fire stations and other essential public health and safety facilities.
Workers begin by repairing major power lines and substations. They work to restore power to the largest numbers of customers in the shortest time. Then, they repair local lines and equipment that serve multiple customers. Finally, crews will work to restore service to individual homes and businesses.
Estimated times of restoration will be provided as soon as possible as damage assessment and repairs proceed.
The storm recovery process could be complicated if controlled outages are required again by the 14-state electric grid operator, as they were Monday and Tuesday. Emergency weather and electric system conditions continue across the region, and SWEPCO will implement its emergency plan as called upon by the Southwest Power Pool. Whether related to storms or controlled outages, we will work as safely and quickly as possible to restore power.
How to Report, Track Outages
- Log on to SWEPCO.com to report an outage and to sign up for text and email updates, including an estimated time of restoration.
- Use the SWEPCO app, available for download via the App Store or Google Play.
- Call 1-888-218-3919 to report your outage.
- Visit SWEPCO.com/OutageMap to find detailed information without logging into your account.
Four Storm Prep Tips
- Customers who are on life support systems or need uninterrupted electric service for health reasons should make alternate arrangements in preparation for potential power outages. Check with those who are elderly or have medical conditions to ensure they have a plan in place.
- Be sure to have an adequate supply of any medications and medical supplies, plus any supplies needed for babies and pets.
- Charge phones, laptops and other electronic devices.
- Prepare an emergency kit with essential items.
More information on what do to prepare for an outage may be found at SWEPCO.com/Outages.
Stay Safe
- Assume that any downed utility line is energized. Stay away and keep children and pets away from downed lines. Report it immediately to SWEPCO at 1-888-218-3919.
- Be extremely careful when using any alternate forms of heating, cooking and lighting.
- If you use a portable or RV generator, do not plug the generator into your circuit box. Portable generators can "backfeed" electricity up the line and risk the lives of repair workers and the public. Follow the manufacturers' instructions carefully, and plug essential appliances directly into the generator.
If Your Power Goes Out
- If you lose power, please turn off heating, water heating and large appliances to enable smoother service restoration. Once power is restored, switch the devices back on gradually over the following 30 to 45 minutes. Taking this step helps prevent a sudden surge in demand after power is restored, which could result in a second outage.
For updates and photos, follow SWEPCO on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
About Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO)
SWEPCO, an American Electric Power (AEP: NYSE) company, serves more than 543,000 customers in northwest and central Louisiana, northeast Texas and the Texas Panhandle, and western Arkansas. SWEPCO’s headquarters are in Shreveport, La. News releases and other information about SWEPCO can be found at SWEPCO.com. Connect with us at Facebook.com/SWEPCO, Twitter.com/SWEPCOnews, Instagram.com/swepco, Youtube.com/SWEPCOtv and LinkedIn.com/company/swepco.
February 17, 2021 - Shelby County Today has received multiple reports of carports and structures collapsing due to the weight of ice and snow.
An alternate location to park vehicles may need to be taken into consideration during this time, and if the stability of any structure is questionable, stay out from underneath.
To avoid injury, people should also avoid entering structures which may have partially collapsed.
February 17, 2021 - Deputies with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting in the 100 block of County Road 1446 in Tenaha on February 12, 2021 at 3:31am.
Per Shelby County Sheriff Kevin W. Windham, when deputies arrived on scene, a female was found with a gunshot wound to the left thigh area and a male sustained a wound in the abdomen.
Both individuals were transported to Nacogdoches Medical Center by Allegiance EMS.
This case is under investigation; no further information will be released at this time.
February 17, 2021 - With temperatures below freezing in Huxley, water conservation is essential to maintaining sufficient water pressure in the system. Damage from frozen and burst pipes in the system can cause a drop in water pressure along with an overuse of water by customers. If water pressure drops below a certain threshold, customers will need to boil water before use.
We are advising customers to reduce water usage by turning off any faucets that may be left on or left running overnight as well as reducing washing machine and dishwasher usage. By reducing water usage, the City of Huxley can continue working towards maintaining adequate water pressure levels.
If you do experience a burst pipe or have water issues, please call our emergency number (936)368-2377.
February 16, 2021 - The City of Center is experiencing an increased number of service calls regarding water leaks due to the recent winter weather. Currently, we have a portion of Nacogdoches St., between Lillian Street and Hurst Street, water service shut off due to a line break. Approximately 20 customers are affected.
Estimated restored water service is expected by 5pm, Wednesday the 17th. Please have patience in our response time as the road conditions limit our staffing abilities and safety of our employees. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact our Public Works Department at 936-598-2941.
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