Dallas opens additional warming shelter ahead of winter weather event

Warming centers across North Texas are opening in preparation for the expected winter storm. Austin Street Center is serving as an overflow shelter after the Fair Park location reached capacity in less than two days.

Organizers have mobilized volunteers and staff to ensure smooth operations at Austin Street Center, located at 2929 Hickory St. in Dallas.

“It’s about having intake staff. It’s about having adequate volunteers. It’s about having janitorial services set up. It’s about, are the showers working, is there any plumbing that needs to be corrected? It is quite an ordeal,” said David Stucker with Austin Street Center.

Stucker explained that the center partnered with the City of Dallas to open the shelter at Fair Park on Sunday. Initially, the Grand Place building at Fair Park was intended as an overflow site, but that plan quickly shifted as demand grew.

“We knew that it was going to be more than our 400-cot capacity here at Austin Street, so we immediately moved to Fair Park and this became the backup, this became the overflow,” he said.

Intake numbers at Austin Street Center will be closely monitored in the coming days.

“I would say by tomorrow night we can expect this to be at 75-80% at least,” Stucker said.

The City of Dallas has announced an additional shelter location to handle the influx of people needing assistance.

Active Shelter Locations:

• Fair Park – Grand Place Building
  3701 Grand Ave., Dallas, TX 75210
  Opens January 5, 2025, at 3 p.m. Intake hours are 3-10 p.m. on Sunday and 8 a.m.-10 p.m. daily thereafter.
• Austin Street Center (Overflow)
  2929 Hickory St., Dallas, TX 75226

Shelters will remain open until the inclement weather subsides, with hours adjusted as needed, according to the Office of Homeless Solutions.

ERCOT'S WINTER POWER CONSERVATION TIPS

• Lower your thermostat by a degree or two if safe to do so.
• Avoid using large appliances like ovens, washing machines, and dryers. Turn off and unplug non-essential lights.
• Set pool pumps to run early morning or overnight; shut off during peak hours. Or, set the pump to the lowest speed to prevent freezing.
• Cover windows with insulated curtains.
• Set ceiling fans on reverse to recirculate the heat that builds up near the ceilings.
• If the sun is shining, open blinds, drapes, or shades during the day to warm your home.
• Lower the thermostat on your water heater. For every 10 degrees of reduction, you can save 3-5% in energy costs. A temperature of 120°F is suggested unless your dishwasher does not have a water heater, in which case 130°F - 140°F is suggested for optimal cleaning.

Find more energy-saving tips at ercot.com/txans.

ERCOT TXANS and Emergency Levels Explained

In 2023, ERCOT debuted TXANS to deliver clear and reliable information to the public about grid conditions. Here’s what the alert levels mean:

• Weather Watch: A Weather Watch is an advanced notification of an upcoming weather system that is expected to increase electricity usage. Texans are asked to pay attention to changing weather conditions that may result in a call for conservation. During a Weather Watch, grid conditions and electricity use are normal.
• Conservation Alert: This is a voluntary request to reduce electrical use, ERCOT said. While ERCOT said it is not in emergency operations, it asks the public and “all government agencies to implement all programs to reduce energy use at their facilities.”
• Energy Emergency Level 1: Conservation is considered to be critical. We reach this stage when operating reserves drop below 2,300 MW and are not expected to recover within 30 minutes.
• Emergency Level 2: Triggered when reserves are less than 1,750 MW and are not expected to recover within 30 minutes. At this point, ERCOT can reduce demand on the system by interrupting power from large industrial customers who have contractually agreed to have their electricity turned off during an emergency.
• Emergency Level 3: The final level hits when reserves drop below 1,430 MW. If operating reserves then drop below 1,000 MW and are not expected to recover within 30 minutes and/or the grid’s frequency level cannot be maintained at 60 Hz, then ERCOT will implement “controlled outages,” also known as rolling blackouts.