SAN ANTONIO – Widespread power outages, reportedly brought on by icy conditions, caused thousands of people across the region to start their day in the dark Wednesday.
At one point in the early morning hours, a CPS Energy power outage map was showing about 40,000 power outages across the area.
A post on CPS Energy’s Twitter page indicated that most of the outages were caused by ice that weighed down power lines and tree limbs.
It caused traffic lights and street lights to go dark, and people to try to get ready for their day in the dark.
CPS Energy crews scrambled, trying to keep up with the problems and make repairs.
Brandy Zilisch is one of the lucky ones who avoided the power outages, at least at home.
“We had power. It was, actually, flickering,” she said.
It wasn’t until she ventured outside that Zillisch realized anything was wrong.
County offices were closed ahead of the storm, according to this note on the door of the county tax assessor/collector’s office. (KSAT 12 News)
She was headed to the Bexar County Tax Assessor/Collector’s Office, hoping to pay her property taxes.
“Of course, they’re closed,” Zilisch said. “I got tomorrow, hopefully. Hopefully, they’ll be open tomorrow.”
A note on the door said all county offices were closed due to the weather.
While the inconvenience for Zilisch was not related to the power outages, there were many people who were impacted by them, all hoping they’d find relief quickly.