Sagging, Breaking, Ice-Covered Trees Contributing to Additional Outages 

TYLER, TEXAS (January 25, 2026) – Oncor has redirected personnel from less impacted locations across our service area to the East Texas region to further support our increased restoration workforce. Additional supplies have also been deployed to staging areas and service centers to support equipment repair and replacement.

Cherokee, Angelina and Nacogdoches Counties, and surrounding areas are the most impacted by ice and power outages in the Oncor service area. Many East Texas areas have accumulated between a quarter of an inch to a half inch of ice in the last 24 hours. More localized areas have accumulated more than three quarters of an inch (see ice impacts here). While estimated times of restoration are not available in all locations, restoration teams are responding to outages in 16-hour, rotating shifts.

“Many of the large trees in our community are pine and other soft-woods that are more prone to bending and snapping under the weight of ice, which can unfortunately have a major impact on electric equipment,” said Tom Trimble, east region customer service executive. “We want to assure our East Texas customers that our teams are experienced working in freezing conditions, and that we’ll be out here day and night working to restore power as quickly as we safely can. We’re thankful for our customers’ patience and for giving our crews room to work.”

Before our lineworkers can make repairs to restore power, damage evaluators must assess repair needs to ensure the right teams and equipment will be assigned to each outage location. These evaluators are highly trained with a thorough understanding of our system. They are utilizing ground and drone inspections to complete this stage of restoration as quickly as safely possible.

In many wooded areas, ice accumulation is causing large branches and tall trees to break and fall into power lines (see East Texas images here), creating new damage after initial repairs have been made. Due to the extreme weight of the ice, damage is unpredictable and can affect even healthy trees out of our clearance areas that would not normally contact power lines. In these cases, tree trimming crews must clear debris before restoration personnel can access the area, remove damaged equipment and re-set or re-install utility poles, equipment and power lines. 

Oncor encourages customers to report all power outages immediately, even if power briefly returned. Reporting helps us more quickly identify locations where additional repairs may be needed further down the lines that supply power to homes and businesses. 

Severe weather can also damage a home or business’s electrical equipment, like the meter base or the weatherhead. If this equipment is damaged, customers will need to contact a licensed electrician to make the necessary repairs. Oncor will not be able to safely reconnect or restore power until these repairs are completed and is unable to repair electric equipment it does not own.

Temperatures are expected to move above freezing Tuesday afternoon, and as ice melts, it may cause sagging branches to suddenly spring up into lines, causing additional outage impacts. 

Safety for employees and the public remains Oncor’s number one priority. Please keep the following safety tips in mind:

• Stay weather aware, monitor local media and have multiple ways to receive severe weather alerts. Check on neighbors and elderly or vulnerable residents.
• Register for MyOncor Alerts by texting “REG” to 66267, download the MyOncor App and follow Oncor on Facebook and X. 
• If you see a downed power line, stay away, keep people and pets away and call 911 immediately. 
• Helpful individual and family resources are available on the TDEM Disaster Portal. 
• Even experienced drivers can lose control on ice, and stopping distances can increase by up to ten times, causing vehicles to slide without warning. For those who must travel, check road conditions at DriveTexas.organd review TXDOT’s Safety Guide for Winter Travel. Use extra caution on bridges, ramps, overpasses, and shaded areas as they tend to freeze first.
• To find warming centers opened and operated by local officials, visit tdem.texas.gov/warm. Locations and availability may change. For the latest information, please call 211 or check your city and county webpages.
• While prioritized during power restoration events, critical care designations do not guarantee an uninterrupted power supply, especially during severe weather. Customers who rely on electricity for life-saving medical devices should have a plan in case of power outages. Anyone experiencing an emergency event should call 911 immediately.
• If possible, bring pets inside during cold weather. If pets must be outside, ensure they have adequate shelter and access to non-frozen drinking water. Move other animals or livestock to sheltered areas and also make sure they have access to non-frozen drinking water.