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Electric Companies Prepare For Freezing Temperatures
Electric Companies Prepare For Freezing Temperatures 1/4/13
Ashley Melnick
amelnick@cbs7.com
CBS 7 News
January 4, 2013
Winter has arrived in the Permian, and that means West Texans are using more electricity.
So as we gear up for the colder temperatures, Oncor spokeswoman, Sue Mercer, said the company is lining up their response team in case of power loss.
“We keep our run crew and our servicemen on a 24 hour call, seven days a week,” said Mercer. “Especially during winter weather.”
After yesterday’s winter storm, Mercer said there were 31 outages this morning in the Odessa area.
“For weather conditions to be what they are,” said Mercer. “This is very minimum.”
Last year, Oncor faced more power outages due to bigger storms hitting the area, which caused snow to weigh on tree branches and power lines.
But this year, the new challenge is accommodating the demand of the growing population.
“As developers and builders contact us about subdivisions and businesses in the area, we have a system planned where we make sure the area has adequate power,” said Mercer.