Photo screenshot: CPS Energy
More than 100,000 CPS Energy customers lost power Friday night after fast moving thunderstorms tore across San Antonio. Crews were still working to restore service into today. At the peak, the utility reported responding to roughly 560 separate outages affecting over 101,000 customers across Bexar County.
If you are one of them, the first thing you want to know is when the lights come back. The honest answer is that it depends on your exact location. CPS had not issued a single system wide restoration time as of this writing.
When will power be restored
CPS Energy has not given one blanket estimate. Restoration times vary by how badly each spot was hit. A blown fuse might be fixed in an hour or two. A downed line, snapped pole or damaged transformer takes much longer. The fastest way to get a real answer for your home is to check the utility’s outage map at outagemap.cpsenergy.com. You can also sign up for outage alerts. These send a restoration estimate specific to your address as crews assess the damage.
The storms moved through quickly. The National Weather Service let its flash flood watch for the area expire at 12.15am today. Clear skies are expected across the region for most of next week. That should give crews good conditions to work in.
Why such a short storm did so much damage
Here is what surprised a lot of residents. This was not an all day system. Some described a burst that lasted barely 40 minutes, arriving after weeks with almost no rain. So how did it knock out power to a sixth of a major city.
The answer is wind more than rain. The Weather Service warned of gusts up to 60 mph. Short bursts of wind like that are exactly what topples tree limbs and drives debris into power lines. After a long dry stretch, brittle branches snap more easily. A single limb across a line or one damaged transformer can darken a whole neighborhood in seconds. It does not take hours of storm to cause hours of outage. CPS said local reports indicated significant damage to both infrastructure and property across its service area.
How to stay safe until the power comes back
This is the part that matters most while you wait. Outages carry real hazards that have nothing to do with the storm itself.
Treat every downed power line as live and dangerous. Do not approach, touch or drive over one. Report it right away to CPS Energy at 210-353-4357, or call 911 if there is an emergency. Lines can stay energized on the ground long after the storm passes.
Be careful how you light and cook. One San Antonio parent described cooking by the light of a scented candle after their kid came home hungry. It was an understandable move, but it also points to a real risk. Candles are a leading cause of house fires during outages, so battery lanterns or flashlights are far safer. Never leave a flame unattended. If you run a generator, keep it outdoors and well away from windows. Never run it in a garage or indoors. The carbon monoxide it gives off is odorless and can be fatal.
Finally, protect your food. Keep the refrigerator and freezer closed as much as you can. A full freezer holds a safe temperature for about 48 hours and a fridge for about four hours. Throw out perishables like meat, eggs and leftovers that sit above 40 degrees for more than four hours.
The bottom line
The worst of the weather has passed. Restoration will roll out neighborhood by neighborhood rather than all at once. Watch the outage map for your address. Stay clear of downed lines, and use safe light and power sources while you wait.
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