To help expedite the restoration of power, Oncor has dispatched approximately 1000 crew members and contractors from as far away as Midland to the hardest hit parts of the company’s grid in east Texas. Oncor currently has 85,000 outages, primarily in Angelina, Nacogdoches, Cherokee, Anderson, Rusk and Houston Counties. At the height of the storm, 108,000 homes and businesses in Oncor’s service area were without power.

With rain still falling Saturday night, Oncor crews had already identified and restored power to several sites of critical importance — like a hospital in Nacogdoches and evacuee center in Lufkin. Into the wee hours of Sunday morning, electrical crews worked to meet urgent needs at other locations, including a water pumping station in Palestine.

“Our crews are now working to restore power to our customers as safely and quickly as possible,” said Brenda Pulis, Oncor Senior Vice President, Distribution. “Ike’s storm size, geographic path and resulting outages bear a strong resemblance to the wake of Hurricane Rita, when challenging terrain and massive trees slowed our work.”

During restoration, Oncor prioritizes power restoration first to emergency public service agencies, such as police and fire departments and hospitals. Electricity is then restored safely to as many customers as possible with each repair.