Ice accumulation poses the biggest threat to electric service this weekend.
Even small amounts of buildup can drag down branches and power lines.
As a massive winter storm approaches, electric companies such as Oncor and Rayburn Electric Cooperative say they are deploying equipment ahead of potential power outages caused by ice accumulation.
“It’s added weight and then to the extent that there’s wind blowing that adds some additional strain. More so than the ice accumulation on the transmission lines and facilities, we also have to worry about the trees,” said Stephen Geiger, chief operating officer of Rayburn Electric Cooperative.
Oncor says ice can increase the weight of tree branches by 30 times, and a half inch of ice can add 500 pounds of extra weight to power lines.
But unlike the 2021 winter storm, the Texas grid is not the biggest concern.
At a campaign event on Wednesday, Governor Greg Abbott said he is confident there will not be a challenge to the power grid but that there is concern about local power outages from smaller downed lines that connect homes and neighborhoods.
“Bottom line, we are in a situation completely different than we were five years ago, ensuring that the power is going to remain on,” Abbott said.
Customers should prepare for a power outage by charging phones and having backup batteries, flashlights and food.
Since the 2021 storm, Geiger says Rayburn Electric, which serves more than 6 million Texans, has hardened transmission lines and facilities.
“So we have doubled down our efforts. We’ve increased over the last few years, increased our head count in linemen. We’ve grown that group, that department, to make sure that we can handle the necessary work in-house instead of having to rely on third parties,” Geiger said.
He says crews are prepared to work nonstop in the event of outages as winter tightens its grip on North Texas.
Updates are expected from Oncor and Abbott on Thursday.
