Austin weather: How to check for power outages in your area

AUSTIN, Texas - With an Arctic blast heading to Texas, one concern on people's minds is the potential for power outages.

Winter storm watch

What we know:

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for counties in Central Texas beginning Saturday, Jan. 24, at 12 a.m. and lasting through Monday, Jan. 26 at 12 p.m.

The following Central Texas counties are included: Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Fayette, Gillespie, Hays, Lee, Llano, Travis, and Williamson.

The Arctic air is still scheduled to push through starting late Friday night and the area is expected to be freezing from Saturday afternoon to Monday morning.

ERCOT Weather Watch

Big picture view:

ERCOT has issued a Weather Watch for January 24–27, citing the forecasted below-freezing temperatures, along with the possibility of frozen rain, higher electrical demand, and the potential for lower reserves as the reasons.

Grid conditions are expected to be normal, and there is no current expectation of an energy emergency, but ERCOT officials tell Texans that reducing electricity use, during peak demand times, can help save and lower demand on the grid.

Texans can also monitor real-time and extended grid conditions at ercot.com and subscribe to ERCOT Emergency Alerts, which are not sent through TXANS notifications, and download the ERCOT mobile app for additional notifications: iOS | Android.

How to check for and report power outages in your area

Local perspective:

FOX 7 Austin has gathered information on how to check for and report power outages with the major Central Texas electric utilities.

Austin Energy

Austin Energy has an online outage map you can view here.

The map shows where outages are, how many customers are affected and estimated restoration times. The map updates every 10 minutes.

Austin Energy says you have three ways to report an outage:

• Online
• By text to 287846: Text OUT to report an outage, STAT to receive updates, PAUSE to pause texts temporarily, STOP to opt out and HELP to see all available options
• By phone at 512-494-9400

If you sign up for their Outage Alerts, you can report an outage and receive Outage Alerts and updates via text message.

To register, you can text REG to 287846 and provide your zip code or account number, or through your Power Outage Alert Preferences center in your online account.

Oncor

Oncor has an online outage map you can view here.

The map shows where outages are, how many customers are affected and estimated restoration times. The map updates every 10 minutes.

You can report outages to Oncor by:

• Calling 888-313-4747
• Texting OUT to 66267
• Downloading the Oncor app, available on iOS and Android
• Reporting it through their online form

Pedernales Electric Cooperative

PEC has an online outage map you can view here.

The map shows where outages are, how many customers are affected and estimated restoration times. The map updates every 10 minutes.

You can report outages to PEC by:

• Calling 888-883-3379
• Texting OUTAGE to 25022
• Reporting it through their online form with your account number/phone number and zip code

Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative

Bluebonnet has an online outage map you can view here.

The map shows where outages are, how many customers are affected and how long the outage has been happening. You can also sort by current or restored outages.

You can report an outage to Bluebonnet by:

• Calling 800-949-4414
• Texting OUT, STATUS, HELP, STOP or BBOUTAGE to 44141
• Using the MyBluebonnet app for iOS or Android
• Logging in to your account online
• Reporting it through their online form with your meter number or phone number associated with your account

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