The bad news is the good news: there are 84,504 Oncor customers without power in Dallas County. That is still a lot. But it is not the 220,000 that it was on Monday morning, nor is it the 111,729 that it was six or so hours ago. Oncor says it has restored power to 200,000 customers since Sunday’s storm. Today, the company solicited help from utility partners in Texas and in 11 other states, bringing in an additional 2,500 workers to help. The company says they’re working 16 hour shifts.
Twitter tells me that residents are starting to see masses of utility trucks, like these guys at Mockingbird and Abrams:
Dear East Dallas: the cavalry has arrived. There are dozens and dozens and DOZENS of utility trucks massed in the old Albertsons parking lot at Mockingbird and Abrams. I don’t know where they’ve come from, but they’re here to help Oncor. #Dallas #poweroutage #eastdallas pic.twitter.com/90KodePOuf
— Flashback: Dallas (@FlashbackDallas) June 11, 2019
“Based on experience with previous severe storms such as these, we estimate that the vast majority of customers will have their power restored by late Wednesday,” read a statement from the company. “However, due to the unusually extensive damage from this storm, restoration for some customers may stretch into Thursday.”
On Monday morning, about 3,000 insurance claims had been filed related to storm damage, according to the Insurance Council of Texas. By the afternoon, the Dallas Morning News reports that that number doubled. I think it’s a safe assumption that it won’t cap out at 6,000.
