This week marks one year since Winter Storm Uri wreaked havoc on the state’s power grid. Since then, Austin Energy staff looked at all areas of operation and outlined 19 observations and 112 actional improvements in an After-Action Report, released last November. Those areas include:
- Continued focus on weatherization processes for generations plants during peak summer and winter weather;
- Adjusting circuits, or lines of power connecting substations to residential and commercial facilities, to allow greater flexibility when cutting power;
- Communicating to critical load customers the importance of securing backup power during extreme emergencies;
- Coordinating with downtown business owners, operators, and occupants to reduce their power consumption during an emergency;
- Enhancing the outage map and outage notification system; and
- Concentrating tree trimming efforts near power lines in heavily forested areas.
Austin Energy also acknowledges the work of its staff who served on the frontlines of this storm. A few notable numbers:
- The Utility Customer Care Center and 3-1-1 fielded more than 160,000 calls about power outages the week of the storm.
- Austin Energy reached out to 365 customers associated with our Medically Vulnerable Registry during the Winter Storm, performing wellness checks and providing resource information. If MVR customers could not be reached directly, Austin Energy field staff conducted wellness checks.
- The utility provided about 1,200 meals a day the week of the storm to Austin Energy employees throughout the city.
