Winter Weather Update 2/3/2022, 11:30 am

NEC continues to monitor a strong arctic front which arrived in Nueces Electric Cooperative’s service area this morning and which is expected to affect weather into this weekend. Forecasts include a potential for winter weather including rain, sleet and ice, and high winds. Any ice accumulations will likely occur during the afternoon/evening hours today and last potentially into tomorrow morning for NEC members.

As with any weather event, power outages are possible as a result of freezing temperatures, high winds and possibly ice. NEC crews stand ready to respond to outages, but please keep in mind that they may not be able to respond as quickly as normal if roads become icy.

Make preparations immediately in case you experience an extended outage.

• Plan to use a safe alternative heating source, such as a fireplace or wood-burning stove.
• Keep extra blankets and warm clothes on hand to help you stay warm.
• Make a plan to keep your pets and livestock warm and out of the cold as much as possible.
• Put together an emergency kit with enough non-perishable food and water to last your family at least a few days. Don’t forget to include food and water for your pets too.
• Fully charge phones, tablets and laptop devices. Also charge a power bank and keep it on hand to charge your phone or other devices as needed during the outage.
• Members who rely on life support or other medical equipment need to make a backup plan in case of an extended outage. We will work to restore power as quickly as safely possible, but cannot guarantee how long restoration may take.
• If you use a portable generator, make sure you follow the manufacturer’s operating instructions properly.
  • Never operate a generator in a home, garage or other enclosed space. The generator should be placed outside in a well ventilated area, at least 10 feet from any windows or doors, to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.
  • Don’t plug the generator directly into your home’s wiring. This could cause back-feeding onto power lines and injure line workers restoring power to your home.
  • Always plug equipment directly into the generator using only safety-tested electrical cords designed and rated for outdoor use.

 Outage Reporting

As always, NEC power line outages can be reported by:

• Calling us at 361-387-2581 or 800-632-9288 (toll free)

Please do not report outages through Facebook. Social media and the website are not monitored 24/7 so any outage reports to those systems may result in a delayed response time to restore your services.

ERCOT & Texas Grid Conditions

At this time, ERCOT is predicting the Texas grid is in good shape for this event. It is not requesting nor anticipating any conservation nor load shed (controlled outage) requests. But if conditions change and generation resources become unavailable ERCOT could request conservation and/or load shed.  We will notify our members if this changes at any time. Please monitor our Facebook page for any updates. For immediate alerts about the electric grid, we recommend you download the ERCOT app (Apple App Store or Google Play) and enable push notifications.

We know NEC members and all Texans are worried about the possibility of a repeat of the February 2021 experience with Winter Storm Uri. The State reports there is more power capacity, more reserve capacity and more natural gas facilities recognized as critical infrastructure for this event. In addition, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), working with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC), are collaborating on a new model of coordination and communications with power companies to ensure reliability and avoid load shedding and controlled power outages during this event. Regardless, there are sure to be localized outages due to wind, ice and vegetation impacting specific power line systems throughout the affected areas. Texans are urged to visit the PUC website at https://www.puc.texas.gov/storm/ to check power outages across the state and view other storm related resources and support.

Remember, if ERCOT were to call for load shedding or controlled outages, NEC is required to comply. These outages would be controlled by our transmission provider, South Texas Electric Cooperative. It would be our goal to rotate controlled outages throughout our system so that no circuit is without power for more than approximately one hour at a time. However, keep in mind that our success in reaching that goal would depend on how much load shed is called for by ERCOT. If ERCOT were to ask for as much load shed as they did in 2021, it would be impossible for us to reach that one-hour goal and members would experience more lengthy outages.