KUBRA Storm Center Provides Answers to 3 Million Texas Customers Without Power During Winter Storm
February 19, 2021
This week, a massive winter storm swept across the Southern U.S., leaving more than 3 million people without power in Texas, Louisiana, Kentucky, and other states. Between freezing temperatures and dangerous conditions, utility officials are working around the clock to avoid catastrophic blackouts that last through the weekend.
As the widespread blackouts persist, millions of people are turning to their utility outage maps for power restoration updates. See how utility customers are flocking to their Oncor, CPS, and AEP outage maps for answers, and how each map is able to sustain a surge in traffic during the peak of the storm.
Oncor - Texas's largest transmission and distribution electric utility
Power outage clusters cover the Oncor map during February’s winter storm.
On Monday, February 15, 2021 alone, the Oncor map was visited 4.3 million times. In contrast, the Oncor map typically receives approximately 17,000 daily average page views. Even with this influx of traffic, the Oncor map remained online without disruption during the entirety of the storm. This staggering spike in page views highlights the importance of reliable outage information during extreme weather events.
CPS Energy - Municipal electric utility serving the city of San Antonio, Texas
Dispersed power outage clusters across the CPS map during February’s winter storm.
On Monday, February 15, 2021, nearly 200,000 customers visited the CPS map, amounting to nearly 502,000 page views in a single day. This is a whopping 7326% increase in page views from the 6,700 map views on the Saturday before the storm.
AEP - Manages electric power to customers in Texas
Power outage clusters cover the AEP Texas map during February’s winter storm.
On Monday, February 15, 2021, nearly 200,000 customers visited the AEP Texas map, totaling 420,000 page views for the day. In contrast, the map only received 5,364 page views the prior Saturday. This increase highlights the map’s ability to remain online during a surge in traffic as customers search for outage information.
The uptick in map views during this winter storm demonstrates how outage maps have become a reliable source of information during uncertain times. To ensure your map is exceeding your customer’s expectations, download our Outage Map Checklist for the top features your utility should include in your outage map.