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Insights > Entergy Texas Winter Storm Update – 2/17/21 @ 8 a.m.
Entergy Texas Winter Storm Update – 2/17/21 @ 8 a.m.
02/17/2021
February 17, 2021 Wednesday, 8:00 AM
Entergy Texas continues to make progress in restoration during this historic winter event.
Currently, there are approximately 33,000 customers without power across our service territory. ETI’s generation units remain stable and online, at this time. Entergy Texas, working with MISO, will continue to monitor the situation, as weather conditions will still pose challenges this morning and in the coming days. Wintry weather could cause additional outages.
For a brief period between 7 pm and 9 pm Tuesday evening, Entergy Texas was required to conduct periodic power outages for its customers across the Eastern portion of its Texas service territory. The company took this action as directed by our reliability coordinator, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), as a last resort and in order to prevent a more extensive, prolonged power outage that could severely affect the reliability of the power grid.
Conservation efforts are still requested as extreme cold temperatures continue and are expected to last until the end of the week.
Restoration work is proceeding as safely as possible, but our crews are facing challenges associated with freezing rain and dangerous driving conditions. In addition, the difficulty of adding customers back during cold weather tend to slow the restoration. Rather than simply energizing an entire power line all at once, we must bring customers back online one section at a time to avoid further damage to our system.
We continue to experience a delay in reflecting restoration status on the outage map, causing temporary discrepancies in information presented. We continue to work on providing more accurate updates. We appreciate your patience.
Key Messages:
- Entergy was directed by MISO to start outages in the Eastern portion of its territory for a brief period between 7 pm and 9 pm Tuesday night.
- We continue to monitor the situation as weather conditions still pose challenges.
- Energy conservation is key. We are asking that all customers practice conservation of energy usage, which will help us in the restoration effort of our remaining customers.
- Restoration work continues, but there are challenges due to the extreme cold. Learn more here.
Safety is our number one priority. If you lose power:
- Stay away from downed power lines and assume they are energized. Report them to 1-800-9OUTAGE.
- Report your power outage online to Entergy Texas or call 1-800-9OUTAGE. There is no need to speak with a customer service representative to report an outage if completed online.
- If you have a portable generator, use it safely. DO NOT run it in an enclosed space. If connecting to the whole house, do so only if the connection has been installed by a licensed electrician to prevent back feed on to the distribution system.
- Do not open your refrigerator or freezer door. Food will stay cold much longer this way. If outside temperature is below freezing, consider placing food in an ice chest outside.
- Please stay clear of linemen as they work to safely restore power
- Entergy employees are navigating the COVID-19 pandemic by taking additional steps. Crews will continue to practice social distancing, and we ask that customers do the same. For our safety and yours, please stay away from work zones.
- Customers without power can help in the restoration process by turning off major appliances but leaving on a lamp or other light to indicate when power is restored. Then, gradually turn other appliances to spread out the increase in power usage over a longer time. Visit entergy.com/cold to learn more.
Conserve Electricity:
Remember that extreme cold can drive increased electricity consumption. Follow these easy steps to reduce consumption and lower your usage:
- Heating can account for as much as 55% of your monthly electric bill. Setting the thermostat to 68 degrees in the winter is an easy way to reduce how much energy you use. Every degree above 68 on the thermostat can increase your bill by about 3%.
- Conserve hot water. Wrap your electric water heater with a water heater blanket that can be found at local home improvement stores and set the thermostat to 120 degrees or medium.
- Keep all doors and windows closed. Constant traffic will let out the warm air, forcing your heater to work harder to keep the room at the set temperature.
- Ensure fans are turning the right way. Fans should be run at a low speed clockwise during the winter. This helps keep the cold air from blowing down on you.
- Keep the air circulating. Don’t block heat registers or air returns with curtains or furniture.
- If available, leverage the sun. During the day, open your curtains and blinds to let in the warm sunlight. Close them at night to reduce heat loss.
Stay Informed:
We continuously keep our communities informed throughout a storm using the following channels:
- Download our free app for your smartphone at entergy.com/app.
- Sign up for text alerts. From your cell phone text REG to 36778.
- Visit the Entergy Storm Center website and our View Outages
- Follow us on Twitter.com/entergytx or Facebook.com/entergytx.
- Call us at 800-9OUTAGE (800-968-8243).
- Follow updates in your local news media like radio television and newspapers.
