San Marcos Electric Utility substations back online, boil water advisory continues

San Marcos Electric Utility’s substations were put back online as of 3 a.m. Thursday morning, the City of San Marcos announced. 

The city said in a social media post that SMEU is meeting its state load-reduction requirement  without experiencing rolling blackouts. 

SMEU estimated that as many as 2,800 customers were without power, as of press time Thursday. The city said SMEU is prioritizing those who have been without power the longest. SMEU crews were working to restore power at Elm Hill Court, Oak Ridge, Post Oak Villa apartments, Junction apartments, The Woods apartments, Blanco River Lodge, Blanco River Village, and Autumn Chase apartments. 

“If you’re without power, it’s critical that the amount of electricity turned on or plugged into outlets at your residence be as low as possible in anticipation of utility crews making needed repairs to reenergize your residence,” the city said, adding that residence should turn off all lights and fans; unplug appliances, especially washer, dryers and televisions; and turn off heating systems. 

The city added that SMEU customers shouldn’t experience rotating outages moving forward unless the  Electric Reliability Council of Texas increases its load-reduction requirement. 

“We’re to the point in load restoration where we are allowing transmission owners to bring back any load they can related to this load shed event,” ERCOT Senior Director of System Operations Dan Woofin said in a press release. “We will keep working around the clock until every single customer has their power back on.”

ERCOT entered its third and highest level of emergency operations because electric demand exceeded available supply at approximately 1:25 a.m. on Sunday. ERCOT added that a significant number of additional generating units tripped offline when the weather worsened overnight while the grid operator was contending with frozen wind turbines and limited gas supply.

ERCOT said customers who remain without power fall into three likely categories: Areas out due to ice storm damage on the distribution system; areas that were taken out of service due to the emergency load shed that need to be restored manually; or large industrial facilities that went offline to help this energy emergency.

Any SMEU customer without electricity should call 512-393-8313 or email poweroutinfo@sanmarcostx.gov. The city said anyone experiencing an outage indicates there is a localized issue at your address that needs to be investigated by SMEU crews. 

Boil water advisory continues 

The city issued a boil water advisory Wednesday night, citing a drop in water pressure within its distribution system. 

The city said the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is requiring the city to issue a boil advisory with low water pressures being a result of power interruptions caused by the current winter weather. The advisory lasts until normal pressures resume and water quality lab results show no contamination. 

The city said this is only a precautionary measure and doesn’t mean water is contaminated. The possibility of contamination is very low, however, residents may want to boil water prior to consumption or use bottled water.

The water system, however, continues to see low pressure due to supply-demand imbalances that have occurred because of the ongoing winter weather event. Areas with no or low pressure include the west side of Interstate 35 to Ranch Road 12, La Cima neighborhood, the entire south end of town from State Highway 123 to areas west of Hunter Road, the city said. Additionally, Kingswood, Sleepy Hollow and Hunters Ridge are receiving some water from the well but it will remain low until overall pressure improves. 

The city said to conserve water customers should isolate any broke piping and turn off water to stop loss. Customers should also turn off faucets that were dripping or running as temperatures continue to climb, the city said.

The city expects to supply additional water as it no longer deals with power outages but it may take two or more days to return to normal service. To report an outage call 512-393-8010 or email waterwastewaterinfo@sanmarcostx.gov.