The power outages caused by a severe weather system that swept through Dallas County on Tuesday morning may last days, according to officials.
In a media briefing, Oncor Electric Delivery described the outages as a “multi-day” event. At the peak of the outages, some 650,000 customers in the area were affected.
“That does not mean if your power is out right now, that it will be out for multiple days,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said, per WFAA. “It certainly could be out for multiple days.”
Jenkins signed a disaster declaration, following reports of flooding and 80 mph winds, the latter of which caused significant damage to some structures.
Uprooted trees, downed power lines, and scattered debris have been just some of the sights across the Dallas area, with tornado warnings issued around Garland and Richardson earlier in the day.
The storm came on election day, as voters were expected to head out to the polls to drop ballots in a number of primary runoff races. However, multiple polling locations were reportedly without power.
Jenkins posted a tool on social media to show voters which locations were not affected by the outages.
There are 180 locations that HAVE POWER. Use this tool to find a location near you https://t.co/T9BgfMTG5L
— Clay Lewis Jenkins (@JudgeClayJ) May 28, 2024
Due to the outages, Dallas County polling places remained open until 9 p.m.
Jenkins posted on X on Wednesday that 20 of the 25 Oncor feeders requiring repairs before they could be powered by the substation were located in Dallas County.
“We are working quickly, we are trying to bring people into the state and keep everybody safe,” said Grant Cruise, Oncor’s communications manager, according to KERA News. “But you should plan for, you know, extended outages in some parts.”
He said Oncor was seeking help from out of state to deal with the fallout.
As of 12 a.m. Thursday morning, over 135,000 customers in Dallas County were still without power. Those experiencing outages numbered over 14,000 in Collin County, 3,000 in Denton County, and 1,000 in Tarrant County.
Oncor stated it expects power to be fully restored by Friday evening, as reported by The Dallas Express.
