At Tuesday’s Coppell City Council meeting, Oncor Area Manager Kita Hobbes presented and answered member’s questions over power delivery in Coppell.
Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC provides transmission and distribution services and is Coppell’s main electricity source. Serving 18,845 customers in Coppell, Oncor owns and operates the poles and wires delivering electricity to homes, businesses and governmental buildings throughout the city.
Hobbes said external factors cause power outages, including trees and vegetation, lightning and wildlife such as squirrels, snakes and other rodents who seek shelter in electrical equipment. High winds blowing vegetation and power lines can also cause an electrical fault that then disrupts power to homes, schools and traffic signals, among other items. In relation to Coppell, Hobbes said the local power outages were isolated incidents where Oncor acted upon immediately.
“They will repair it right then, and if it needs to be replaced, they will do it. They don’t just put a Band-Aid on it,” Hobbes said. “While we can’t be proactive on everything with our 400,000 miles of lines, we try to look back on any work that needs to be done.”
As a solution and prevention, Hobbes listed beneficial actions such as patrolling feeders, checking for failure points, completing equipment maintenance, checking voltage meters, ongoing testing and cable equipment upgrades. In Coppell, these methods will be mostly enacted in the affected neighborhoods surrounding Andrew Brown Park East and Riverchase Golf Club.
Hobbes shares tools to communicate with Oncor and access information regarding power distribution such as their text notification program, the Oncor app, Oncor social media pages, and a new virtual assistant available on the Oncor website.
“Continued communication with Oncor is a great step to staying prepared,” said council member Don Carroll.
Mayor Wes Mays proclaimed “National Night Out” to be Oct. 3, 2023, a day celebrating the 32nd anniversary of the crime watch prevention program and its significant impact in reducing crime, drug usage and violence in Coppell, cooperating with the Coppell Police Dept. In 2022, more than 70 block parties were held in celebration, with law enforcement passing out goodies and apparel.
“When we first moved to the city of Coppell we didn’t know any of our neighbors and absolutely felt like we were alone until National Night Out happened,” Mays said. “Then our entire block turned out, and we have been close friends ever since.”
In addition, the council seeks citizens to apply to the nine boards or commissions to help guide development, future needs, regulations and more for Coppell. Learn more and apply here.
City Manager Mike Land provided information over traffic flow on MacArthur Boulevard, a ribbon cutting ceremony for the boardwalk at Moore Road Park and brightening habitat conditions for local wildlife.
Kaleidoscope, a celebration of color, culture and music, is Oct. 7 from 3 p.m to 7 p.m in Old Town Coppell. The event includes vendors, diverse food truck cuisine and a performance from dance crew iLuminate.
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