AUSTIN, Texas — Thousands of Austin Energy customers have been dealing with power outages as temperatures remain below the freezing mark since early Wednesday morning. 

Now, the utility is warning that power likely won't be fully restored until Friday. 

"City of Austin and Austin Energy have pulled all attention and resources to address outages stemming from one of the worst ice storms to hit Austin in years. Since the storm began early Wednesday morning, Austin Energy has restored more than 72,000 customers. However, restoration efforts have been slow due to consistently freezing temperatures and accumulating ice," Austin Energy wrote in a news release. 

Austin Energy and City of Austin officials announced that the issue will be addressed during a news briefing scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday. 

Austin Energy, just before noon Thursday, reported 1,473 active power outages with 156,305 customers affected. That means about 30% of customers remain without power Thursday morning. The outages were attributed to downed power lines caused by trees and branches that succumbed to ice. 

The majority of the outages appeared to be west of Interstate 35. 

Across the state, nearly 400,000 people lost power during the winter storm, the majority of them in Central Texas. 

To see Austin Energy’s outage map, click here.

Austin Energy customers were asked to report outages by texting “OUT” to 287846.

"Due to the high number of customers trying to report power outages, Austin Energy’s system currently isn’t allowing some people to submit through their outage map or by text. If you see a large outage on the map near your home, Austin Energy is more than likely already aware that your house is without power. Thank you for your patience as we work through the problem. You can still call their outage line at 512-322-9100, but be aware there are long wait times due to the high volume of calls," Austin Energy's news release reads. 

Oncor on Thursday morning was reporting 141,787 customers without power. Its outage map is available here. Bluebonnet Electric was reporting more than 11,000 customers without power. Its outage map is here. Pedernales Electric Cooperative, just before 7 a.m. Thursday, was reporting 39,083 meters without power.