Power should be restored by Tuesday night to the few thousand San Antonians still without electricity after severe storms raked the region Friday night.
Fewer than 2,000 customers were without power as of Monday, down from about 110,000 when torrential rain and high winds ravaged the CPS Energy service area.
"We will have customers that are without power into tomorrow, but we believe that we ought to be able to restore our very last customer by tomorrow night," CPS interim CEO and President Frank Almaraz told a Monday news conference.
Thousands of San Antonians still in the dark as outages from Friday storm persist
The utility now is working on individual outages, sometimes having to navigate through backyards or alleys that are difficult to access. Some involve substantial damage, like structural issues or trees blocking access, making it a "very complex restoration effort," Almaraz said.
"We've had a lot of people who were restored very fast," he said. "The rest of the effort is going to be slower, but we continue to work."
That progress could be delayed by the threat of more bad weather headed to San Antonio. Almaraz said CPS forecast a 20% chance of thunderstorms later Monday - the same forecast made before the Friday night storm.
Crews can continue to work in bucket trucks as long as winds are lower than 25 mph. If the wind gets higher than that, the crew can continue to work on the ground. Lightning or significantly higher winds will halt all work.
Traffic lights across the city have gone dark or have been flashing since the storm. Officials said they should be restored by Wednesday. Until then, motorists are advised to treat any inoperable traffic signal as a four-way stop.
CPS said there were 500 wires down at the peak of the outage, which the utility is still working to repair. Fifty poles had been replaced as of Monday morning, each taking at least three hours to repair.
"That's a process that just can't be made faster," Almaraz said.
Repairs have been a collaborative effort between the city, contractors and crews from elsewhere across Texas. Those extra crews from utilities like Pedernales Electric Cooperative, helped to double CPS Energy's capacity from the number of crews it had Friday night.
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Other numbers from CPS: 377 trees reported as affected by the storm, 30 of which are still pending. The city's Public Works Department is assisting CPS Energy by chopping trees and stacking them in piles near the curb. The Solid Waste Management Department is gradually working to pick them up.
The city-owned utility prioritized outages affecting the most residents and repairs to critical infrastructure like medical centers, water and sewer plants, police and fire stations.
Residents, many of whom were still without power, tuned into a livestream of Monday's press conference on the utility's Facebook page. In a comment, Laisha Gonzalez acknowledged the utility's effort but called for accountability.
"It's ridiculous to still be without power for 60 hours after a 30 minute storm," she wrote. "It would be more understanding if the storm had been more severe."
Another commenter, who didn't specify where she lived, said, "We're currently still without power. When will we ever be 'priority?"
More than 60,000 still without power after Friday night storm batters San Antonio
CPS said 40,000 customers' service was restored overnight Friday. That climbed to 55,000 restored overnight Saturday, followed by 10,000 restored Sunday night.
Almaraz acknowledged the relatively slow pace of restoration the day after the storm, when crews were delayed by the need to clear debris and downed trees before beginning many repairs.
Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones urged residents to call the city for help clearing debris.
"We are not there to do anything but help get your power on," she said in response to concerns that residents could be cited for other issues on their property. "If we see something we will, of course, make you aware of it. But we are there to get your power back on."
San Antonio power outages could last days; VIA offers free rides to cooling centers
Six so-called resilience hubs - which provide basic supplies, access to power, device charging and free WI-FI.-- were open overnight over the weekend. Sixteen residents and two pets stayed overnight at Garza Community Center, Normoyle Community Center and Northeast Senior Center. Those locations will stay open.
The centers that were not used by residents - Copernicus Community Center, Miller's Pond Community Center and Southside Lions Senior Center - will no longer stay open overnight.
Libraries and community centers continue to serve as cooling centers and residents can get a free VIA ride to those locations.
The city is working to assess total damage from the storm to see if it qualifies for state assistance.
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This article originally published at Power should be back on for all San Antonio residents by Tuesday night, CPS says.