In a bid to avoid the loss of power that hit millions of Texans in February 2021, the City of Dallas has made arrangements for a backup source of power, CBS News reports. The planning and use of these resources fall under Dallas’ Emergency Management.
According to a report presented to the city council in September 2021, providing a backup source of power at various facilities throughout Dallas will enable the creation of warming and cooling centers to help residents if severe weather causes extended power outages.
During the fall, the city council approved $2 million to purchase eight fixed generators and an additional eight portable power units with generators and heating systems. The fixed generators were to be placed in select libraries and rec centers. The different mobile power units would be deployed according to the city’s needs.
However, as the city was preparing for the current winter storm, Dallas’ Director of Emergency Management Rocky Vaz said that the generators would not be ready for this winter.
Per CBS 11 News, Vaz told the city council in a meeting in January that the generators had arrived. However, he said that installing them would take six to eight months.
The mobile power units are also not ready for use as the city does not have heaters and trailers for them yet. Vaz blamed this on ongoing supply chain issues.
Despite the fallback in the city’s plans, Vaz assured residents that the city is better prepared than last year for severely cold weather. “We have warming stations with prepositioned supplies. We have contracts in place. We have water distribution that we have to do,” he said.
Per CBS 11 News, Vaz said that the city is preparing coach buses to provide residents with a warm place in the event of widespread outages.