Thousands in Houston, Southeast Texas affected by power outages amid freeze

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Frigid Friday morning with temps in teens, then sunny but very cold day

This morning's low temperatures were the coldest since the infamous freeze of 2021 and lows tonight could be in the teens again. A hard freeze warning is in effect through noon on Christmas Eve and temperatures could struggle to reach the low 30s today and upper 30s tomorrow.

Thousands of customers were without power across the Houston area on Thursday night and Friday morning as temperatures plunged into the teens.

Unlike the widespread power outages caused by the power grid during the freeze in 2021, these power outages are affecting residents in pockets mainly due to things like wind damage.

HOUSTON WEATHER FORECAST

Around 7:30 a.m. Friday, more than 30,000 people were starting their day without power, but thousands of customers have since had their power restored.

As of 1:30 p.m., Entergy was reporting 9,061 customers affected by outages, and Centerpoint was reporting 7,470 customers affected.

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Restoring power to customers

Entergy Texas released an update around 9 p.m. that said about 46,000 (84%) of the 54,500 total impacted customers have been restored since the beginning of the weather event at 2 p.m. on Thursday.

As of 9 p.m., they said fewer than 8,000 customers were without power which is down from a peak of approximately 19,000 at 6 a.m. 

"Power is expected to be restored to most of the remaining customers later tonight, with some customers in the heavily impacted locations potentially being restored Saturday. Estimated times of restoration may be adjusted as more information becomes available," Entergy said.

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According to the company, the process to restore power is different during cold weather.  They say crews have to bring customers back online one section at a time, because energizing an entire line all at once could create large, instantaneous power demands.

"Entergy Texas crews are assessing and restoring damage from strong winds and gusts that swept across Southeast Texas on December 22. At 11:30 p.m., approximately 17,680 customers were without power. The localized outages are related to windy conditions affecting main line and neighborhood circuits. Entergy Texas power generation resources continue to operate as expected, and crews are working around the clock to safely restore power as quickly as possible," Entergy Texas stated in an update released around midnight.

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"The instant demand is different than day-to-day operations and could be higher than the built-in protective devices on lines were designed to handle. This is done for the safety of our customers, and to avoid damaging our system or making the situation worse," Entergy Texas stated.

The company also said that certain kinds of repairs that require them to use bucket trucks can not safely be performed when winds are above 35 mph.

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Warming centers open as arctic blast rolls in

FOX 26 Reporter Sherman Desselle spoke with officials at Lakewood Church about their warming center, and what they're offering to those who need to stay warm during as the arctic blast rolls through Houston.

How to track power outages in Houston, Southeast Texas

We have outage maps for Centerpoint and Entergy together on one page on our website. Click here.

If you are a mobile user, click here for CenterPoint Energy outages and click here for Entergy.

MORE: Tracking power outages in the Houston-area

Warming Centers open across Houston

If you need a place to get out of the cold, warming centers have opened up around area.

Click here for a list of locations and hours.

MORE: Warming centers in Houston area open for freeze, arctic blast

How is the power grid doing?

According to ERCOT, the power grid is currently operating under normal conditions and is meeting demand.

On Friday evening, ERCOT said they had "all available resources on-line or in reserve in preparation to meet electric demands."

Click here to see current grid conditions, as well as supply and demand.