Georgetown residents frustrated with frequent year-round power outages

Oncor customers frustrated with outages

A group of Oncor customers in East Georgetown say power outages are an issue they deal with frequently.

GEORGETOWN, Texas - Thousands of Austin Energy customers went without power Wednesday evening on one of the hottest days of the summer.

However, a group of Oncor customers in East Georgetown say power outages are an issue they deal with frequently.

So much so, the Bingham family has a box of candles and flashlights ready to go for the next time the lights turn off at home.

"We've had something, if not more than one time, of power outages every month," said Melody Bingham. "So, sometimes they last five minutes, sometimes they last 17 hours."

In the last twelve months, an Oncor report lists 30 different power outages at Melody Bingham's east Georgetown home. She’s on an electric well system, so anytime the power cuts off, she also loses access to water.

"We've lost power four times since that document, which was July," said Bingham.

According to Oncor's report, the weather is tied to about ten of the outages. But another third of it is related to the equipment itself.

Oncor explained the majority of the remaining outages are mostly for the safety of workers out on the line.

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"If it happened every now and then, we understand when a weather situation happens, like it's hailing like there's going to be some effect to our power, but a majority of the time it has nothing to do with weather," said Bingham.

After reading Bingham's story on social media, a warning light went off for Casey Smith.

"I think it kind of caught me off guard how large scale it was," said Smith.

Smith also lives on the east side of Georgetown. An Oncor report shows she's lost power ten times in the last year, totaling nearly 60 hours of darkness.

"For me though, the breaking point was this last outage in August (08/07) when it's 110 degrees outside, there's not a cloud in the sky," said Smith. "We have no reason why this is happening."

Oncor sent the following statement to FOX 7 Austin.

"We recognize that power interruptions for any reason can lead to frustration and difficulties for our customers, and we are aware that customers in this area have recently experienced some repeat outages. These outages have been caused by a variety of reasons, including severe weather impacts, vehicle accidents, wildlife and equipment issues. Our teams recently upgraded power lines and equipment along Toll Rd 130, that will help improve reliability and reduce outages for these customers. additional upgrades and enhancements are also planned for the area, with additional long-term reliability planning also ongoing."

Even with these upgrades, Smith and Bingham say power is still uncertain, and that's what they're asking Oncor to solve, sooner rather than later.

"For as long as this issue has gone on there's just no reason that it shouldn't be taken care of by now," said Smith. "This is insane."

"We need to figure out what's wrong and figure out how we can fix this and get answers because if Oncor says I can't guarantee you power, that's not an answer," said Bingham.

Both Smith and Bingham have filed complaints with the Public Utility Commission of Texas, hoping to get some help from the state.