AUSTIN, Texas —
Almost all of the Austin Energy power outages have been restored following the ice storm in Central Texas, but there may be more that pop up due to already compromised trees.
A representative with Austin Energy explained that recent weather events that the area has seen may cause potential future outages. The most recent ice storm, summer 2022's historic drought and Winter Storm Uri combined have left trees in bad shape.
"Just to be extremely mindful that that there may be breakage at the top of the canopy that they've not seen yet or that is harder to notice. And high winds can bring down more limbs," said Matt Mitchell with Austin Energy. "So please be extra careful when you're in your backyard, when you're walking around, and especially if your children or pets are playing in that area."
If Austin Energy customers are worried about a certain tree that is too close to their equipment, Mitchell recommends that they contact Austin Energy. The company will then send a crew out to the area to look at the situation.
"We feel like given the extensive restoration efforts we've done over the last 10 days, that we're in a good, good place as far as the Austin Energy equipment, our distribution lines, power lines and poles," Mitchell said. "That being said, you can't rule out that that top of our tree canopies are still very fragile and a windstorm or several days of gusty winds could cause further breakage."
Mitchell also recommends that residents have an arborist come look at the trees in their yards on a regular basis to prevent them from becoming overgrown.