San Antonio – Jose Escobedo tried to beat the shopping crowd Wednesday. He was stocking up on milk, eggs and other things at La Fiesta Supermarket, hoping to avoid the road on Thursday.
“I know for a fact it’s going to get real, real bad tomorrow. So that’s why I’m doing it right now, before the storm tomorrow” he said. “I don’t know who is going to be out there, but it’s not going to be me, that’s for sure.”
Tino Luna assistant manager says they’re seeing as much traffic as they see at the beginning of the month. Baskets are a lot more full, “normally, they buy maybe half a basket or buy just what they need right now. They’re buying like they’re buying for the whole week,” he said.
His crew has been busy keeping shelves stocked. People are after bread, milk, eggs and caldo kits. His produce was delivered a day early, incase the roads are closed Thursday.
CPS Energy has spent $22 million in winterizing their power plants, and the state now requires inspections. Rudy Garza interim President and CEO says they’re in a good position for the days ahead.
“There could be outages associated with wind gusts that could be anywhere from 30 to 40 miles an hour, which could cause equipment related damages,” Garza said. “We do not anticipate any grid related outages associated with this winter weather.”
SAW President Roberto Puente says their system is also winter ready. “As far as SAWS is concerned as long as ERCOT provides power down here we will be A-okay,” he said.
Now it’s up to homeowners to check their homes. Especially those on pier and beam foundations and those with exposed pipes. “Go by history, what has happened to your home, what worked and what did not work,” he said.