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Encore says Highway 205 work and safety settings are behind recent outages; company outlines resiliency plan
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Summary
An Encore representative told the McClendon Chisholm City Council that many recent outages along Highway 205 stem from pole relocations and reconductoring tied to TxDOT’s road-widening project and from temporary safety settings; the company outlined a multi-pronged system resiliency plan including new substations, vegetation management and selective undergrounding.
An Encore field contact told the McClendon Chisholm City Council that recent power interruptions in parts of town are largely tied to equipment upgrades and TxDOT’s Highway 205 widening, and that some outages result from safety settings used while crews work on lines.
“We have about seven miles of poles and basically reconductor that we’re doing,” said Jocelyn, Encore’s contact for Rockwall County, describing new poles, cross arms, fuses and wiring installed as part of the upgrades. She said crews have set protective devices to a ‘one‑shot’ mode so circuits remain off until field technicians verify a fault is clear, which can extend outage duration while technicians investigate and repair issues.
Jocelyn said the work is intended to “harden” the system and improve reliability once completed. She described Encore’s system resiliency program (SRP), scheduled tree‑trimming on main feeders this year, and construction of new substations — including a Blackstock substation in Royce City — as elements designed to meet growth and reduce future outages.
Council members asked about converting overhead lines to underground. Jocelyn said some segments will be buried, but cautioned that underground facilities are costlier and can be harder to locate when faults occur. “It’s not the end‑all, be‑all,” she said, noting an approximate residential differential of several thousand dollars and that Encore follows least‑cost design requirements where applicable.
The council and staff pressed for operational details and timelines. Jocelyn urged residents to report outages through Encore’s 888 line or the MyEncore portal so crews can assign and track response times; she said technicians from Mesquite and Terrell are typically the closest resources. For serious storm damage, she said repairs that require pole replacement can take four to five hours because crews must fetch materials and equipment such as cranes.
The presentation concluded with the mayor thanking Encore for its responsiveness. Jocelyn told council members she would remain available after the meeting for follow‑up questions and for staff to coordinate with project managers on which segments will be placed underground.
Next steps: council members said they will continue to use the Encore contact and city staff to escalate recurring outages and to press for clearer timelines and maps of undergrounding and other upgrades.
