By Scott Harvey
– Oncor electric delivery, who serves 7 million customers in Texas, has begun electrical outages across the State in response to high demand following Tuesday's ice storm.
The structured outages, which are not considered blackouts, began around 6 a.m. today, at 15-minute intervals. The Dallas-based utility is complying with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, which operates the electric grid and manages the deregulated market for 75 percent of Texas.
Area spokesman Stan McKey could not confirm when the outages would occur here in Northeast Texas, or whether they would occur more than once. He did assure he's been informed these outages are only supposed to last 15 minutes at any one time.