On Thursday, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) gave the green light to the power companies across Texas to begin restoring power. 

According to AEP, thousands of customer outages are reported in the Valley as of Thursday night, but the number is dropping. 

Oscar Perez is 79 years old and lives with his wife and their pup in Edinburg. 

Perez said his power went out Sunday afternoon, and said it hasn't been easy. Perez says not having power during this winter storm is worse than what his family faced during Hurricane Hanna.

READ ALSO: ERCOT gives green light to restore power 

Perez says he was fortunate to borrow a generator from his son to help during the power outages. But he is worried for his neighbors, who may not have the resources available or may be resorting to unsafe decisions to adapt to the cold weather.

“Some of our friends that are around here in the colonias, like to take a tub and fill it up with a little bit of sand and use either charcoal or Mesquite and bring in their coals inside the house." 

Some people living on the west side of the neighborhood had their power restored on Thursday. But many, including Perez and his neighbors in the East side, are still waiting. 

We continue to make progress. Here are some Estimated Times of Restoration (ETR). We aim to restore 95% of all customers affected by Friday. Thank you - we are doing our best to restore electric service swiftly and safely. Please stay safe. #WeAreAEPTexas https://t.co/dimaMQEsk6

— AEP Texas (@AEPTexas) February 19, 2021