Most customers are subject to rotating interruptions as the winter weather continues

SAN ANTONIO – About two-thirds of CPS Energy’s networks will continue to have rotating outages for the next 24 to 48 hours due to unprecedented demand amid freezing conditions that are expected to persist in the coming days, officials said Monday.

CPS Energy updated the media on Monday afternoon, hours after Texas Electric Reliability Council said rotating outages would continue statewide until Tuesday.

Paula Gold-Williams, president and CEO of CPS Energy, said the goal is to try to rotate outages in 15-minute steps. But with high demand, combined with a reduced ability to generate energy due to frost, she acknowledged that the results were not consistent.

Some customers reported longer outages, with power returning only a few minutes in a row.

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“We take all the information we can and try to solve the problems,” Gold-Williams said.

Most of the disruptions that San Antonio residents face are due to rotations. Some customers may no longer have power because of other factors, such as equipment failure, Gold-Williams said. About a third of the network will continue to have power because certain circuits supply critical services, such as a hospital or police department.

CPS Energy usually sees the maximum energy demand in summer, when the hottest temperatures set in. But this ice storm has outpaced demand seen in the summer, Gold-Williams said.

Gold-Williams said the crews work 24 hours a day to address the issues, but said the scenario is a “very complex process.”

Without interruption, entire networks would be hit offline, leaving them without energy indefinitely, Gold-Williams said.

Officials are urging customers to continue to save energy when they have the power in an effort to stabilize the system faster.

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