Power Restoration
As of Wednesday evening, 99.8% of Austin Energy customers had power. Since the beginning of the ice storm, Austin Energy has restored more than 360,000 customers. Based on current assessments of the system, Austin Energy still expects to restore power to nearly all remaining customers who are able to receive power by Sunday, Feb. 12. It expects many of the remaining affected customers to have electricity before Sunday. Those who require electrical repairs to customer-owned or maintained equipment may be without power longer. Crews continue to work 24/7 through the remaining outages.
On Your MARCs
As the community enters recovery, the City offered its first of several Multi-Agency Resource Centers (MARCs) at Montopolis Recreation and Community Center in Southeast Austin on Wednesday, Feb. 8, providing Austin-Travis County families impacted by the winter storm with a variety of complimentary essential resources, such as charging centers, debris and damage information, mental health support, hot food, laundry facilities, showers, and more.
On Thursday, Feb. 9, a Center will open at North YMCA: 1000 W Rundberg Ln, Austin, TX 78758, from 3:00 pm-8:00pm.
Other planned MARC events include:
Date: Friday, February 10
Times: 9:00 am – 7:00 pm
Location: Austin Convention Center, 500 E Cesar Chavez St, Austin, TX 78701
Date: Saturday, February 11
Times: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Location: Austin Community College Riverside Campus, 1020 Grove Blvd, Austin, TX 78741
In addition, the City has created a “virtual” resource center, which can be accessed online 24/7. More information about the in-person and virtual MARCs at AustinTexas.gov/Recovery.
Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk
“This ice storm led to historic-level damage all across our city. I know it’s an extremely difficult situation for those still without power, and I’m truly sorry for what you’re going through,” Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk told a news conference Wednesday. “Austin Energy continues to work around the clock with help from partner utilities from across several states to restore power to everyone as quickly as possible.
“Again as we navigate all of these challenges brought on by the storm, it is so heartening and unsurprising to see our community organizations stepping up to help our neighbors, as the City continues to work to reestablish city infrastructure and services.
“With our Resource Centers, we’re coming to you, no matter what part of the city you are in, to ensure that you have what you need to be able to weather this historic event. We are thrilled to be a part of these efforts and embrace the learnings from previous storms and emergencies to come together and ensure that Austin and Travis County families get the resources that they need.”
Clearance of Debris on Private Property
Austin Resource Recovery (ARR) has increased the help it is getting from contractors to speed up storm debris collection efforts. Currently, there are nearly 70 crews at work collecting large branches and tree limbs from ARR customers and this number will increase by the end of the week. So far, over 21,000 cubic yards of storm debris have been collected in 430 loads. ARR customers can request a collection of large storm debris by calling 3-1-1 (or 512-974-2000) or submitting a storm debris collection request through the Austin 3-1-1 mobile app or at Austin311.org. Limbs should be at the curb ready for collection. Customers can drop off tree limbs and branches for no charge at Austin Water’s Hornsby Bend Biosolids Management Plant, 2210 FM 973, Austin, from 8 a.m.– 4:30 p.m., Sunday–Saturday.
Clearance of Debris in the Right of Way
Austin Public Works has approximately 180 field staff working to clear the right of way of downed trees and debris. Crews are using a grid system approach to methodically confirm that debris has been cleared from public streets and sidewalks across the city. To date, they've assessed approximately 70% of the grid system map and cleared debris from over 1,250 sites. The effort to clear the full City’s rights-of-way may take another week or more. Residents should continue to use caution while traveling and slow down around work sites.
Trash, Recycling and Composting
Regular curbside collections of trash, recycling and composting resumed this week. Due to the large amount of material we are collecting, some composting collections may run behind. Residents should leave composting out while crews get caught up. Wherever space allows, set out carts in front of or beside storm debris piles so our crews can see them; this makes collections faster and easier for our staff. Remember to also keep carts out of the street and off the sidewalks. We understand that space is limited and appreciate everything our community has done and continues to do to aid recovery efforts. Learn more at www.AustinRecycles.com.
Traffic Signals
Austin Transportation Department has confirmed that all traffic signals are now functional, improving safety and the free flow of traffic.
Emergency Shelter
For individuals and families who remain without power or can no longer afford to stay in a hotel and need a place to shower or sleep, call 3-1-1 or 512-974-2000 to request overnight stays through Austin 3-1-1. Sleeping cots, shower facilities, food + water, pet sheltering, and charging stations are all accessible at an emergency shelter. The City of Austin is working with community partners and volunteers to meet requests. Once a shelter request is made with Austin 3-1-1, residents will receive a callback from City of Austin personnel between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. with information on next steps.
Public Information Request Processing Affected by Severe Weather Event
The City of Austin has submitted a catastrophe notice to the Texas Office of the Attorney General to suspend certain deadlines under the Texas Public Information Act for seven calendar days. This notice and the suspension will allow City departments involved in the response to last week's winter weather to have time to respond to Public Information Requests (PIR) received during that time.
The City submitted the notice on February 6, 2023, in accordance with section 552.233 of the Texas Government Code. This provision authorizes a governmental body to suspend the applicability of the requirements of the Public Information Act if the governmental body is affected by a catastrophe. This notice will expire on February 12, 2023.
Any pending public information requests that have been received will be paused for seven calendar days and new public information requests that are received over the next seven calendar days will be deemed received on February 13, 2023.
Departments whose operations were not affected by the winter weather should continue to respond to public information requests under normal procedures. These notice provisions were passed by the Texas Legislature in 2019 in response to Hurricane Harvey.
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