TIMELINE: How long did it take Austin Energy to restore power during ice storm?
AUSTIN (KXAN) — At the peak of Austin’s February ice storm, almost a third of Austin Energy customers were without power.
According to data from Austin Energy, 173,879 customers were without power at 3:49 p.m. on Feb. 1. That’s approximately 31.6% of all customers.
We’re now getting a detailed look at just how quickly power outages spread across the city, and how long it took crews to restore power to thousands of customers.
Widespread outages began popping up in the early morning hours of Feb. 1. By 5 a.m., 50,000 customers were without power. That number doubled just a couple of hours later, with 100,000 customers in the dark by 7:13 a.m.
The number of customers affected continued to grow throughout the morning and into the afternoon, before starting a slow decline that evening.
By midnight, 150,000 customers were still without power, as temperatures remained below freezing. It wasn’t until two days later, 9 p.m. on Feb. 3, that the number dropped below 100,000 for the first time.
By 10:40 p.m. the next day, Feb. 4, fewer than 50,000 customers didn’t have power. It took until 2:08 a.m. on Feb. 7 for the total to drop below 10,000.
Austin Energy tweeted at 3:56 p.m. on Feb. 11, a full 10 days after hitting the peak number of customers affected, that power had finally been restored to all customers who were safely able to receive power. At that time, around 160 customers remained without power because of damage to customer-owned equipment that required repairs from electricians.
In total, Austin Energy data shows almost 375,000 customer outages were reported between Feb. 1 and Feb. 12.
When restoring power, Austin Energy said it prioritized areas with critical infrastructure, such as hospitals, 911 or telecommunication centers, the airport, water treatment plants and wastewater plants.
Beyond that, a spokesperson told KXAN at the time that the company also factored in how many people were impacted by particular outages, as well as how long the power had been out at a location.
In a special-called meeting on Feb. 21, Austin Energy discussed its response with City Council.
During the meeting, Austin Energy General Manager Jackie Sargent addressed a list of changes the utility has made – and plans to make – in case of another weather incident like this.
She said she has directed staff to examine the communication process and admitted Austin Energy should have sent emails and text messages to customers more quickly. She also called for a feasibility study to take a closer look at the cost of burying more powerlines. Two new full-time positions have been added to Austin Energy’s internal emergency management team. Sargent also said she has reached out to utilities in cities that frequently deal with hurricanes for additional insight.
“I’ve connected my team and directed them to schedule site visits to learn how they prepare for and manage hurricane restoration and coordinate their efforts with their respective city operations,” she said.
The city’s response to the ice storm came under intense scrutiny, eventually leading to the firing of City Manager Spencer Cronk on Feb. 15.
Prior to his firing, Cronk said the city would work closely with meteorologists and other experts “to better understand the factors that contributed to this weather event and develop more effective strategies for responding to similar incidents in the future.”
