Most customers are subject to rotary interruptions as winter continues

SANTO ANTÓNIO – Approximately two-thirds of CPS Energy networks will continue to experience rotary outages for the next 24 to 48 hours due to unprecedented demand amid freezing conditions that are expected to persist in the coming days, officials said on Monday.

CPS Energy updated the media on Monday afternoon, hours after the Texas Electric Reliability Council said the rotating outages will continue throughout the state until Tuesday.

Paula Gold-Williams, president and CEO of CPS Energy, said the goal is to try to alternate interruptions in 15-minute increments. But with high demand, combined with reduced power generation capacity due to the freeze, she acknowledged that the results have not been consistent.

Some customers have reported longer interruptions, with the power returning only for a few minutes at a time.

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“We are absorbing all the information we can and trying to solve the problems,” said Gold-Williams.

Most of the disruptions San Antonio residents are experiencing are due to rotations. Some customers may be out of power for longer due to other factors, such as equipment failure, Gold-Williams said. Approximately one third of the network will continue to have power because certain circuits supply essential services, such as a hospital or police department.

Typically, CPS Energy reaches peak energy demand in the summer, when higher temperatures appear. But this ice storm has outpaced demand seen in the summer, Gold-Williams said.

Gold-Williams said the teams are working around the clock to resolve the issues, but she said this scenario is a “very complex process”.

Without blackouts, entire networks would be shut down, leaving them without power indefinitely, Gold-Williams said.

Authorities are asking customers to continue to conserve energy when they have power, in an effort to stabilize the system more quickly.

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