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CenterPoint: 'Extended power outages likely' during Hurricane Nicholas; ERCOT says grid is ready
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said crews will be deployed as quickly as possible to restore to restore outages.
HOUSTON — Hurricane Nicholas is expected to cause “extended power outages” as it moves across Southeast Texas with winds at nearly 75 mph, according to CenterPoint.
As of 10 p.m. CenterPoint reported nearly 25,000 customers without power. That number is expected to grow quickly throughout the night.
In a news conference Monday night, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said CenterPoint crews are ready and will restore power as quickly as possible.
“I can assure you they have plenty of people that are out there deployed to get power restored,” Turner said.
CenterPoint also reminded residents to be aware of downed power lines that could be hidden by floodwaters so don’t drive or walk through flooded areas.
Please report downed lines at 713-207-2222.
ERCOT statement on Hurricane Nicholas
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) issued a statement Monday evening saying it’s “preparing the grid to maintain reliability in the face of rain, winds and potential flooding.”
ERCOT said any power outages related to Hurricane Nicholas will most likely be at the local level and caused by powerful winds toppling power poles and tree limbs falling on power lines.
Here’s ERCOT’S full statement.
“As Tropical Storm Nicholas bears down on Texas, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is preparing the grid to maintain reliability in the face of rain, winds and potential flooding.
In addition to officially alerting ERCOT market participants of the weather threat, ERCOT has acted to reduce planned maintenance-related outages in the area most likely to be affected by Nicholas and instructed power companies to implement their emergency procedures in preparation for the storm.
Any power outages caused by the storm will most likely be at the local distribution level. Local outages can be caused by factors ranging from high winds toppling power poles to tree limbs falling on power lines.
Residents and businesses experiencing power outages should contact their local electric service providers to report those outages and receive updates on restoration times.”