Yet another round of severe weather on Sunday night left more homes and businesses without power in Dallas County.
In the wake of strong thunderstorms, Oncor reported that as of 9 p.m. Sunday, 8,855 Dallas County customers were without power, an increase from 6,988 customers without electricity at noon.
The company had been hoping to resolve tens of thousands of outages connected to days of severe weather by tonight.
At Matthew Scott’s home on Shady Hill Drive in Dallas, cables ran from an outdoor generator into windows – as he used his engineering background to try and keep cool after six days without power.
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“It’s been bad. We’ve been cramped into one room with a portable air conditioner running,” Scott said.
Tuesday morning’s severe storms knocked out electricity to more than 650,000 people in the Metroplex, with severe storms in the following days slowing down repair efforts.
Scott lost power when a tree limb snapped the line to his house, and he said six days later, Oncor hasn’t given him a timeline of when electricity can be restored.
In response, Oncor told NBC5 that the company has directed Scott to hire a private electrician to make repairs to his home's system before service can be restored.
On nearby Davila Drive, David Fox also woke up to day six without power.
Fox took his family out of state for several days, hoping to come back to find service restored, but by Friday, they were still in the dark.
It wasn’t until Sunday afternoon that the lights finally came back on.
“Something that we kept thinking about is a lot of people can’t afford to take that trip or go stay in a hotel, a lot of people can’t afford the loss of groceries,” Fox said. “This hits people hard; not everybody is in the same economic class.”
Some of those in need have been turning to Truett Elementary, which the City of Dallas has been using as a resource center for those still without power.
The city’s Office of Emergency Management said the center has helped close to 5,000 people obtain food, clothing, and other essentials since Saturday morning.
“There’s a lot of folks out there that need assistance, particularly those of us that are elderly and unable to do it for themselves,” said John Patterson, Manager for Plans and Readiness with the Dallas OEM.
During a flash flood warning across the DFW area Sunday night, Oncor posted a notice that the company was monitoring the storm system and would be working to restore power as needed.
Dallas emergency officials told NBC5 that aid groups could keep providing resources to storm victims if the outages continued into the coming days.
“Just reaching out and putting their arms out and helping people in their time of need,” said Patterson.
ONCOR RESPONSE
NBC 5 reached out to Oncor to ask if there was an updated timeline for when outages connected to this week’s storms were expected to be fixed and for a response to concerns from people who’ve been without power since Tuesday.
"There is an issue with our notification systems and we are actively working to correct it. We understand that this has caused some confusion for our customers," an Oncor spokesperson said in a statement. "Our goal is to always keep our customers informed about the status of their outage."
“Our crews are continuing to work throughout the night, and at this time, we are not changing our timeline for when we hope to have all outages connected to this week’s storms resolved,” the statement continued. "We recognize the challenges of being without power after such a devastating storm and we appreciate our customers’ patience. Oncor personnel will continue working around the clock until all of our customers are restored."
In the interim, customers are being asked to visit Oncor.com or the Storm Outage map at stormcenter.oncor.com for available information."
On Monday morning, the power company added a statement to its website with more information:
"Oncor also greatly appreciates the support of our mutual assistance partners and the continued understanding and patience of our customers, especially in the face of such devastating back-to-back storm impacts and extended outages."
Customers without power are also asked to examine the meter base and weatherhead to their home or business to ensure they have not been damaged or pulled off. If that has occurred, customers need to contact an electrician to make necessary repairs before Oncor can restore power. In some cases, a permit from the city will also be required.
Safety for our team members and customers remains our top priority. As homeowners and tree-trimming contractors continue the difficult work of clean-up and debris removal around their homes and businesses, Oncor urges everyone to put safety first and take extra precautions during this process.
If you see a downed power line, leave the area and call 9-1-1. Do not attempt to trim, cut or remove trees or vegetation from your property if power lines are in the area. This work should be performed by certified professionals. Fallen trees and debris may conceal these lines or other hazards. You should always assume a downed or low-hanging power line is energized and stay away. Additionally, anything touching the power line, such as a tree branch, could also be electrified. Keep pets, children and others away from the area."
