ONCOR International Ltd.

Here Are a Couple of Common-Sense Pieces of Legislation the Texas Electricity Lobby Killed

Electricity issues may not get as much ink as abortion-ban legislation here in Texas, but there were a few bills filed this session -- more like kale than red meat -- that sure as heck would have had a bigger impact on your pocketbook. They were common-sense and pro-consumer protections and, obvious ... More >>

Oncor's "Phantom Tax" Windfall May Become Permanent as Bill Hits Texas House Floor

Oncor, the Dallas-based sticks-and-wires utility, has collected half a billion dollars from ratepayers since 2007 for federal income taxes. But according to a report, the IRS hasn't received a dime. In fact, most of that cash has gone to its struggling parent, Energy Future Holdings, which is march ... More >>

Report: Customers Have Forked Over $500 Million to Cover Oncor's Phantom Tax Payments

Dallas-based utility Oncor has collected half a billion dollars from ratepayers to cover federal income taxes it has never paid. Last year alone, customers paid $230 million to reimburse the utility for a "phantom" tax bill, according to a new report from the Texas Coalition for Affordable Power. T ... More >>

Burglars Are Posing as Code Enforcement So They Can Steal Stuff from Old People

Ricky Carr, the man who police say bilked Dallas' elderly out of $100,000 by pretending to be a cop and asking to inspect their cash, remains in jail, leaving the title of most-shameless-exploitater-of-old-people up for grabs. We don't yet know who they are, but a pair of new candidates are vying f ... More >>

Dallas City Hall Battles Oncor Over How the City Can Spruce Up its Trails

The swaths of land that run underneath Oncor's electric transmission lines are in many ways ideal spots for jogging trails. They stretch for miles, are largely free of obstructions and are controlled by a single entity, eliminating the types of property issues that would make construction anywhere e ... More >>

As Council Splits $329,000 Windfall, Mayor Rawlings Tells You Why Dallas' Pools Suck

The Dallas City Council is meeting this morning to decide how it wants to divide a last-minute, $329,000 windfall in the form of additional franchise fees from Oncor. In the context of the a $2.57-billion budget, it's peanuts, but it offers council members a way to fund their own pet projects, many ... More >>

Our Largest Electricity Generator Looks Like It's Preparing for Bankruptcy

Market seers think Dallas-based Energy Future Holdings, which owns the state's biggest power generating assets, might be engaging in a little prebankruptcy housekeeping. The latest sign? It's repayment of an inter-company loan. Energy Future isn't a single, vertically integrated giant like it was w ... More >>

City, Developer Will Finish Making Your Walk Down Lamar Street Suck Less Right After it Pays this Cable Bill

You have always been able to walk from the site of the Convention Center Hotel over to, say, police headquarters, but why would you? That stretch of Lamar Street has never been particularly inviting to non-motorized transport, but some long-delayed street improvements designed to make the stroll les ... More >>

Will the Firewall Protecting Oncor From Its Basketcase Parent Company Keep It From Getting Burned?

Oncor, the transmission company that runs power lines and electricity meters, is just about the only good thing Dallas-based Energy Future Holdings has going for it. Energy Future's generation arm, Luminant, the largest unregulated power generator in Texas, has seen its coal-fired power plants preci ... More >>

Tomorrow, the Dallas City Council Will Explore How We Keep the Lights From Going Out

In light of a few things -- namely the one-year anniversary of the most widespread rolling blackout in Texas history; the razor-thin reserve margins that left the state teetering on the verge of more rolling blackouts during that hot-as-hell summer; and ERCOT's assertion that there aren't enough pla ... More >>

Park and Rec Posts New Pics of That Katy Trail Extension (The New Northaven Trail Too)

In case you wondering about this, says the city: "The trail will continue east next to the ONCOR substation."​Not sure I knew there was going to be a "Northaven Trail" till I drove past the under-construction path beneath the power lines on St. Michaels a few weeks ago. Very nice. Need proof? The ... More >>

Where Dallas Is and Isn't Making Money, or: Oncor Had a Very Good Summer, AT&T Less So

Red-light cams don't bring in the green.​This afternoon at 1, the city council's Budget, Finance, and Audit Committee will get together with a jam-packed agenda that will include an appearance by City Auditor Craig Kinton, who will outline his FY2012 to-do list. (Which includes a look-see at the c ... More >>

Who Needs Electricity On Such a Lovely Day?

​I don't trust that Oncor power-outage map -- mostly because it doesn't show operating-on-emergency-back-ups Unfair Park HQ on the in-the-dark list, or maybe we're just the unlucky 26 sans juice in Dallas. (Says 1,088 are sweating it out in Fort Worth.) Course, it could be worse: We could be livin ... More >>

Guess We Should Have Submitted Our Sketch For That West Dallas Power Plant Contest

Scott Armstrong's winning entry in the cover-the-power-station contest. Get it -- power plant?​A Friend of Unfair Park just gave me the heads-up: The three winners of that so-called "Power Art" competition, intended to create some kind of artistic cover-all for the Oncor substation at the western ... More >>

Oncor, City Need Some Help Making Power Plant on Calatrava's West Side Look Nicer

​Good timing: Later today, Leslie's cover story for the paper version of Unfair Park dealing with the city's involvement in efforts to thoughtfully (fingers crossed) redevelop West Dallas at the foot of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge will hit newsstands virtual and otherwise. So happens, according ... More >>

Your Oncor Bill Will Be Going Up

​Back in late January Oncor told the Public Utility Commission it wanted to raise Dallas residents' electricity bill by, oh, let's say $4 to $5 a month. Even though there'd been a three-buck jump in your bill only two years ago. Said Oncor, look, it had no choice: People aren't wasting electricity ... More >>

Yes, Our Power's Out Too

​The wife called: Power just went out. It's a trend: When I checked Oncor's outage-info website 10 minutes ago, close to 39,000 folks in Dallas were sans juice; that number has since jumped to 41,722, with another 12,680 outta luck in Fort Worth. Here's the latest map. Oncor says: That's the way w ... More >>

And Don't Forget the New Sylvan Ave. Bridge

Click to embiggen for a better look at a cross section of the new and improved Sylvan Avenue bridge.​Sam's bringing bagels and coffee to this morning's meeting of the Trinity River Corridor Project Committee; he's got questions, many questions, specifically about the second Calatrava bridge that w ... More >>

Mike Rawlings Flexes Financial Muscle

Fear the 'stache, or: Mike Rawlings as Bradley Whitford as Dan Stark​If there was any question that former Park Board president Mike Rawlings would be the top fund-raiser among the three announced mayoral candidates, he's seemingly answered it by unveiling a new television ad this morning as p ... More >>

Not Very Super: The Weather, and Reaction To It, Has Mayor Tom Leppert Very "Disappointed"

Justin TerveenMayor Tom Leppert, with Ron Natinsky, left, and Downtown Dallas Inc. head John Crawford at Main Street Garden opening in November '09. Probably applies today too.​No doubt, in coming weeks the Dallas City Council will hold committee briefings during which officials with the Electric ... More >>

Super (?) News & Notes: From Cotton Bowl to Coliseum, Power (For Now!) and Shut Up, Baby

The latest Oncor outage map. As always, updates available here.​That's the latest Oncor outage map above -- and it appears quite a bit busier than yesterday's at-this-time look-see. (Which might explain the fleet of tree-removal trucks that just passed in front of the house?) Still, ERCOT and Onco ... More >>

The Rolling Blackout Revue: ERCOT's Having Oncor Turn Out the Lights. But For How Long?

The latest Oncor outage map, which you can see updated here​Several Friends of Unfair Park have asked about reports of a rolling blackout, courtesy Oncor at the behest of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. Sure enough: Says ERCOT spokesperson Dottie Roark on her outgoing message, "We are d ... More >>

Oncor, Dallas Really Wants Lights (and Heat) Kept On at City Hall and Convention Center

Justin Terveen​Personally, I'd love nothing more than to see the council chambers go dark during this morning's briefing. Need something to liven up that ho-hum agenda that includes runaway shopping carts and a look at the Mayor's Youth Fitness Initiative -- or MyFi, as it's called. Besides, ... More >>

At City Hall, Dr. Kenneth Cooper Declares the Health of Dallas Children a "Disaster"

Kenneth Cooper at Dallas City Hall this morning​For a good hour or so this morning, there was a parade of people to the briefing-room podium at Dallas City Hall to discuss the Mayor's Youth Fitness Initiative, funded with $1 million worth of seed money from Oncor. Among those on hand: Mike Rawling ... More >>

City Hall Explains Why Downtown Dallas Won't Go Dark During Rolling Blackouts

​Earlier this morning, City Hall PIO Frank Librio sent word that the city asked Oncor to keep the city's lights on during the rolling blackout. He just sent further word about how Oncor energizes downtown. "You learn something every day," Librio says. To the missive, which includes a streets updat ... More >>

It Took a Football Game, But Oncor's Turned On All the Lights On Commerce Street Bridge

Red Oak Kid​Ashley Burton, an Oncor spokesperson, just called with the news: "All of those lights on the Commerce Street viaduct have been repaired and turned on.  I just spoke with someone who was out there to check last night, and they're energized and turned on."Me too, Ashley. After all, ... More >>

On Oncor's Super Bowl To-Do List: Get Those Commerce St. Bridge Lights Back On (Finally)

Red Oak Kid​Driving home from the Kessler Theater Friday night, I was reminded yet again of how drab and shabby the Commerce Street bridge over the Trinity River looks in the dark, what with more than a dozen of the old streetlights inoperable since who can remember when. I made a note to call the ... More >>

City Wants to Put Off Oncor's Requested 16.5 Percent Rate Hike As Long As Possible

​On January 7, Oncor filed with the Public Utility Commission a rate-hike request: It wants to jump your electricity bill by around $5 a month. Said Chief Operating Officer Charles Jenkins: So sorry, but we have no choice! "The proposed new rates reflect both the investments we've made and the cos ... More >>

Power to the People: Oncor to Spend a Million Bucks on Recreation Centers

​Well, that was quick: Patrick just sent word that Oncor's ponying up one ... million ... dollars to the Dallas Parks Foundation, every cent of which will go toward the rec centers, whose operating hours are on Mary Suhm's chopping block. More to come. As in: What the what's a "Mayor's Youth Fitne ... More >>

Fitness Model: Oncor Pledges the First Million to Mayor's Youth Fitness Initiative

Photos by Patrick MichelsMayor Tom Leppert accepted a million bucks from Oncor to launch the Mayor's Youth Fitness Initiative today, which, first off, will help keep rec centers open.Once they hung the posters for this afternoon's big announcement at City Hall, the suspense was pretty well killed. M ... More >>

Oncor to Light Up City Hall With All the New Ways It'll Serve Customers During Outages

Oncor​Patrick Michels will be Our Man at City Hall today, liveblogging the portion of today's council briefing having to do with Love Field concessions (hey, he asked). But there is something else of interest on the agenda today: Storm Communication Improvements, referring, of course, to how Oncor ... More >>

Ask Oncor! Really. Anything. Go Ahead. Do It.

​Back in May we introduced you to Brenda Jackson, who had just been named Oncor's Chief Customer Officer -- and a more thankless job title you will not find. The gig, which I am sure she likes, and that was the question, was created following the fallout from the February snowstorm that left the p ... More >>

A Map of Downtown's Treasures (With Audio)

​For those who missed it: Yesterday, in the comments of the Downtown Dallas 360 update, Brother Bill Holston wondered if there was a "walking tour" brochure for those interested in touring downtown architecture. A little later in the day, Business Council for the Arts's CEO Katherine Wagner chimed ... More >>

OK, So Your Dallas County Property Deed May Have Gotten a Little Soggy Overnight

​I tried to retrieve something from Dallas County's Web site this morning only to discover that, sorry, it ain't responding. Two seconds later, I found this Associated Press story explaining why not: The county's Records Buildings is underwater -- at least, the basement is following a downtown wat ... More >>

Oncor Powers Up Power-Outage Web Site

​This morning I had to go to the Oncor site to look for something that may or may not be related to the myriad tree limbs still intertwined with the power lines behind my house. Whilst there, I figured I'd take a look at the recent press releases, see if there was something I'd missed. And, sure e ... More >>

So, Don't Want Oncor Touching Your Trees, Hunh? Well, It's Got an Idea 'Bout That ...

Oncor​Got home from the Rangers-Angels game last night 'round 11ish only to find two Oncor trucks parked on the street behind the house. Seems they'd been called to emergencarily trim trees in the power lines causing sparks to shoot high into the night sky. Which is funny: I've been up Oncor's ass ... More >>

Oncor to Recognize "The Voice of the Customer"

​Then, Oncor will promptly hang up on that customer.I kid, I kid!But, seriously. Oncor sends word today that, well, sure, maybe the energy provider's gotten a little too big in the britches. Maybe it's lost touch with the common man, woman and child who'd like to find out why, days after a power o ... More >>

The Big Red Glove Offers Updates on Fair Park's "Major Dallas Event" (Or Not) and City Council's Request for a Briefing From Oncor

Harry WilonskyAn advertisement for the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey fight at Cowboys Stadium scheduled for March 13​Still no word on what will "ROCK" Fair Park -- though White Rock Marathon chairman Phil Baker swears his organization isn't up and leaving Victory Park as the starting point and fin ... More >>

At Least One Council Member Has Questions for Oncor About Protracted Outages

Oncor​Ran into some acquaintances Sunday afternoon and into the evening who were still without electricity following Thursday's snowstorm; several of them packed up the kids and were forced to take refuge in Plano hotels, since Dallas was all booked-up for the All-Star festivities. Angela Hunt pos ... More >>

Power Outage

Flickr user: Dallas1200amHenry Moss Park, where the power's always out​Unfair Park may be a bit delayed this morning. Blame it on Oncor, which spent an hour last night trying to restore power at our NW Dallas outpost before, apparently, giving up. We've had juice maybe six hours on and off out of ... More >>

Whiteout? Blackout!

This is what's powering Unfair Park at the moment.​Unfair Park's Northwest Dallas outpost lost power about 20 minutes ago -- which frankly comes as no surprise given that the nearest suggestion of a springtime sprinkle often times causes electrical darkness. (Just as well, the Dallas Independe ... More >>

Taking One More Step Down Katy Trail

The city expects to begin construction of Katy Trail Phase III by no later than March.​On Friday, the Friends of the Katy Trail posted photos of two new entrances: the Beasley staircase at Hall Street and the Tao of Warren at Armstrong Boulevard, paid for with private funds. On Wednesday, the coun ... More >>

Today's Quality of Life Update: How to Report Dead Street Lights, and TX-OU Tow Warnings

Zazzle​Amazing the things you learn from city council briefings. Like this: Oncor has a Web site that allows you to report street-light outages by address or pole numbers. It's been operational since August, but the council's Quality of Life Committee is getting a briefing on the subject today. Th ... More >>

Putting the "Pow!" in Power Company: Or, How Not to Install an Oncor Smart Meter.

​Working for the electric company's not exactly a job you'd expect to put you in the line of fire, but this morning, one Oncor employee found himself on the wrong end of a shotgun. Dallas Police report that when worker showed up to replace the meter at a Fair Park neighborhood home, the homeowner ... More >>

Those New Smart Electricity Meters May Be Too Damned Smart

"Mystery Meat" | "Storm Damaged" | "Buzz"

A Week After the Storms, Not Out of the Dark

Ever since last week's storms, something's been up -- which is to say, down -- with the power in our Northwest Dallas neighborhood. On Monday night, 'round midnight, a transformer behind the house blew -- a few crackles; a brief flicker; then, all dark and quiet for but a few uncomfortable moments. ... More >>

How Last Week's Torrential downpour forced Jim Schutze To Reflect On His Insignificance In the Universe

Bryan Floodway

Web MayfieldWe're under a tornado watch till 11 p.m., and Oncor's still working to get power to some 80,000 homes still in the hot, sticky dark. So, fittingly, we'll end this long, wet week with an image provided by Web Mayfield, taken yesterday on Bryan Parkway just east of Beacon Street. "Limbs, g ... More >>

Still Plenty of Smoke to Be Cleared in TXU Deal