50,000 without power in Williamson County, heavy ice on lines to blame, Oncor says
She said the county had been in regular contact with energy providers who did not have an estimated time or day that power could come back.
WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Heavy ice on electrical wires have caused them to droop, strain, and break, leading to widespread outages across the county, utility provider Oncor said. County emergency managers said utility crews are working to restore power as county and city workers rush to clear fallen trees from roads.
As of Thursday afternoon, Shantelle Brannon, deputy director of Williamson County emergency management, said 50,000 residents from Georgetown to Jarrell, and Taylor to Granger were still waiting for power to be restored.
"It's widespread," Brannon said.
She said the county had been in regular contact with energy providers who did not have an estimated time or day that power could come back.
"Every single power utility company that I've talked to today. And over the last couple of days, everyone is overwhelmed. They are working to restore everyone's power as quickly as they can," Brannon said.
The eastern portion of the county was hit hard by this week's ice storm.
The City of Taylor said an estimated 8,000 residents were waiting for power to come back Thursday.
This week, Taylor Mayor Brandt Rydell signed a disaster declaration which authorized emergency funding for disaster relief. Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell also signed an emergency declaration this week in response to the freeze.
Oncor, which provides energy to much of the eastern portion of the county, said 30,000 customers were waiting for service to be restored.
Brannon said the company was using the Williamson County Expo Center in Taylor as its staging area for trucks and crews servicing downed lines.
A representative with Oncor said mutual aid had been brought in from other Texas cities and nearby states to restore power as well.
Taylor resident Erin Herbrich has lived on her west-Taylor property for a decade. Her home lost power Tuesday morning and regained it Thursday afternoon, but the connection would come off and on every few hours.
She says winter at her home isn't usually this rough.
“We’ve dealt with ice before but this is pretty major. It’s come back on, then go back out for another day so hopefully, we’ll be fortunate enough to keep the power on," Herbrich said.