It’s the question thousands of North Texas families are asking tonight: when will power be restored? Clear answers are hard to come by.
NBC 5 Investigates asked Oncor, the region’s largest power transmission operator, but a company spokesman said Tuesday that officials were still assessing many damaged locations and trying to determine where repairs can be made in hours or in days.
Oncor said repair crews are pouring from across the region to assist. But by Tuesday afternoon, the company said it was still trying to determine exactly how much help was arriving, and whether it would need to put out an even wider call for additional help.
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In the meantime, residents and business owners are in the dark about how long they need to prepare to be in the dark.
In old downtown Plano, it was business by candlelight Tuesday at the Fillmore Pub. Candles flickered at empty tables as the afternoon lunch crowd was washed away by the storm that first smashed the plaza outside, knocking down chairs and tree limbs leaving a mess, and then knocking out the lights.
The power outages have left many small business owners wondering when they will be fully back in business.
“Not knowing like, 'Hey, it will be back on in eight hours,' or, 'It will be back on in 72 hours,' it’s a little nerve-wracking,” said Stephanie Duva, the Fillmore Pub’s general manager.
Duva said the uncertainty can be even harder on staff.
“Since almost everyone here is hourly, they are dependent upon their paychecks to be able to pay their bills,” Duva said.
In Plano, portable generators kept the power running at some homes north of downtown while at other homes people made plans to leave for the night.
“We are going to go find someplace cool. We are going to go to a relative's place and they have got some room for us there,” said Max Goodrich, who was cleaning up storm debris in his front yard.
Goodrich heard warnings from Plano city officials telling people it might take days to restore power in some locations. So, he is preparing for the possibility that the mess in his yard could turn out to be less trouble than the hours in the dark still ahead.
“You know, I know everyone is trying their hardest but we are just going to try to prepare for the worst and hopefully it will be on quicker than later, but we are going to prepare for a couple of days and see what happens,” Goodrich said.
Oncor Officials said that in many locations utility poles were sheared off and need to be replaced from the ground up. A process that can take much longer than simply repairing wires, and adding to the uncertainty the region faces in the days ahead.
