CPS ENERGY PREPARED FOR HEAVY WIND AND RAIN IMPACT ON SERVICES
According to the National Weather Service, thunderstorms, accompanied with lightning, strong winds and heavy rainfall, are expected to impact Greater San Antonio Tuesday and Wednesday. CPS Energy system operators and crews are equipped and ready to respond to our community as the storms go through our service area.
“Our team is prepared to respond should our customers experience power outages in the event of severe weather,” said Rudy Garza, senior VP distribution services and operations. “True to our People First philosophy, we will do our best to work safely and quickly to respond to all who may be affected.”
The combination of rain, lightning and wind can cause multiple challenges to reliable power. Heavy rain may result in flooding, which can damage above-ground electrical equipment. Strong winds may cause tree limbs to hit or fall on power lines, or power lines to come in contact with other power lines. Lightning can strike transformers, utility poles, high lines or other equipment. All may result in a power outage.
The utility is encouraging customers to be prepared for potential weather-related outages and downed power lines.
CPS Energy offers the following tips:
- Report your outage by reporting it online with your smart phone or tablet or by calling (210) 353-HELP (4357) to ensure that we are aware of your outage promptly.
- Be prepared. Keep cell phones, flashlights, batteries and other important items available for an unexpected power outage.
- Stay informed. Check our outage map for current outage updates. Also, follow our Facebook and Twitter sites for status updates. If possible, seek local TV or radio station weather reports.
- Stay away from downed power lines and report them to CPS Energy. Do NOT attempt to move or drive over the lines. Even in an outage, power lines may still have an electrical current running through them.
- If your home or business is flooded, never enter standing water unless you’re absolutely sure the main power has been shut off.
- Unplug electrical equipment such as stereos, TVs and computer equipment to help protect them from power surges during power restoration.
- Keep the refrigerator door closed as much as possible. Refrigerated food should be safe as long as power is out no more than 4 hours.
- If it looks like the power outage will be for more than 2-4 hours, pack perishable items (meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy products and leftovers) into a cooler surrounded by ice. Discard any perishable foods that have been above 40 °F for more than 2 hours. Visit the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to learn how to keep food safe at fda.gov.
- If your neighbors have power and you do not, check your breakers. Tripped breakers account for 15% of our service calls.
For additional safety tips, visit cpsenergy.com and search power outage.
Customers can sign up for Energy Alerts at cpsenergy.com through Manage My Account.
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About CPS Energy
Established in 1860, CPS Energy is the nation’s largest public power, natural gas and electric company, providing safe, reliable, and competitively-priced service to 804,000 electric and 343,000 natural gas customers in San Antonio and portions of seven adjoining counties. Our customers’ combined energy bills rank among the lowest of the nation’s 20 largest cities – while generating $7 billion in revenue for the City of San Antonio for more than seven decades. As a trusted and strong Community partner, we continuously focus on job creation, economic development and educational investment. True to our People First philosophy, we are powered by our skilled workforce, whose commitment to the community is demonstrated through our employees’ volunteerism in giving back to our city and programs aimed at bringing value to our customers. CPS Energy is among the top public power wind energy buyers in the nation and number one in Texas for solar generation. For more information, visit cpsenergy.com.
