4:30 p.m., July 21, 2005
 
Telling It Briefly:

As of 4:30 p.m. Thursday, approximately 750 electric consumers in the Rio Grande Valley were without power. This number is down from a peak number of 27,500 in the wake of Hurricane Emily.  

• Service restoration has been completed in many areas of the Valley, and most, if not all outages associated with Hurricane Emily are expected to be completed by 9 p.m. Friday, if not sooner.
• Although the full force of the hurricane did not hit the Rio Grande Valley, the Valley did experience very extreme weather conditions for an extended period of time over a large area.  Consequently, service restoration will take longer for some customers than restoration activities following a smaller storm.   
• Electric consumers who have not called in to report their outage are encouraged to do so.

• Customers using portable generators are asked to follow hook-up instructions carefully. An incorrectly installed generator can feed into the electric system, causing a hazard to employees working on power lines.
• To report a fallen power line or electric hazard, or to report an outage, call 1-866-223-8508.  All power lines should be considered energized and dangerous. Don’t touch anything in contact with the line such as trees, fences or puddles of water since they can conduct electricity. Because of the likelihood that the storm will cause many lines to fall, customers are asked to keep their children and pets inside.
• Residents are asked to turn on their porch lights to help patrolling crews determine the areas that have power and areas that are still without power.
• Electric customers with damaged service entrances must first get necessary repairs by an electrician and obtain any necessary electrical permits before service can be connected.