By Lindsay Martin
Staff Writer

Texas was faced with an unprecedented winter storm last week leaving many citizens with various electrical issues.

Power outages occurred throughout the state, leaving millions of people without power for days.

San Antonio resident Joe Aguilar was one of many without power.

“Our power was on and off for about 58 hours,” Aguilar said. “But one day we went without it for 16 hours straight. We had no electricity, no heat, no lights and it was super slippery outside.”

Aguilar doesn’t believe that the local government was properly prepared for the storm.

“They weren’t equipped for the majority of Texas being without power and they weren’t prepared for the amount of power requests,” Aguilar said. “The power grid should’ve been protected but it wasn’t.”

Texas’s power grid is disconnected from the eastern and western US power grids that connect the rest of the country. The independent power grid caused more issues restoring power.

Many out-of-state power companies volunteered to help restore power in Texas, including Alabama Power.

Dannielle Kimbrough, community development and public relations manager for the Western Division of Alabama Power, said it is not the first time the company helped another state.

“We often provide assistance when severe weather causes issues in communities across the country,” Kimbrough said. “We have a mutual assistance agreement in place that allows us to work with utilities across the country when they are in need. In turn, utilities come to Alabama to assist us when we experience severe damage to our systems.”

Alabama Power sent more than 300 lineworkers and support personnel to assist in restoration efforts. The workers strung more than 300 spans of wire and replaced 22 poles and 25 transformers.

Dallas resident Alexa Holloway remains thankful to the power companies who helped with the restoration.

“It is amazing how other states cared about Texas and tried their best to help us get our power back”.