ERCOT has directed SPEC to begin temporary power outages across our service territory to reduce demand on the electric grid. We expect the outages to last anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, but maybe longer. These outages will rotate so they will not affect our entire service area at once. This is a last resort effort to prevent as statewide blackout.

If you lose power, turn off your heating, water heater, and large appliances to enable smoother service restoration. Once power is restored, you should switch the devices back on gradually over the following 30-to-45 minutes. Taking this step will help prevent a sudden surge in demand after power is restored, which could cause a second outage. We thank our members for their patience and support during this time.

As of 5 a.m., we have about 7,100 members out of power due to the ice. Our linemen will begin restoration efforts again in the daylight. We will be coming! But keep in mind it will take us a while to get to everyone, especially in these conditions.

We understand our call center is experiencing a high volume of calls. They handle calls from cooperatives across the country, many of which have been dealing with this ice storm for days. It may take some time for calls to go through. We recommend reporting outages online or via app: https://sanpatricioelectric.smarthub.coop/Login.html

To view outages, check out our outage map: https://www.sanpatricioelectric.org/outage-map-0

More from ERCOT: http://www.ercot.com/news/releases/show/225210