KATY, TX (Covering Katy News) - CenterPoint Energy says its crews have restored power to nearly 96% of impacted customers and that the company remains on track to restore electricity to approximately 98% of affected customers by the end of the day on Wednesday, July 17, and to all customers who can receive power by Friday, July 19.
The news comes as Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to punish CenterPoint Energy even after the lights come back.
"Texans deserve better from their electrical companies, especially during hurricane season. The adequacy of your preparation will be analyzed in the coming months, but the time is now for CenterPoint Energy to improve its practices."
The Governor requested an investigation by the Public Utilities Commissioner and that CenterPoint accomplish the following by July 31:
- Identify how CenterPoint Energy will eliminate all vegetation issues by August 31, 2024.
- Specify all actions CenterPoint Energy will take in the future that it failed to do during preparing for and responding to Hurricane Beryl that will reduce or eliminate power outages for your customers.
- Ensure that CenterPoint Energy has sufficient pre-staged workers to immediately respond to any power outages that may occur for any tropical storm or hurricane that hits your service area.
- Describe how CenterPoint Energy will retain or quickly restore power for at-risk Texans in hospitals, nursing homes, and senior living facilities.
- Describe how CenterPoint Energy's pole replacement process for Hurricane Beryl will be accelerated and prioritize deploying new, highly resilient poles before the end of this hurricane season.
- Specify CenterPoint Energy's plan to improve customer communication before, during, and after a weather event and how CenterPoint Energy will fix its online outage tracker.
"We have work underway to address the Governor's requests and are committed to collaborating with the State, local government, regulators, and community leaders to increase the resiliency of the electric grid," a CenterPoint statement said. This work is integral to ensuring that we are creating and sustaining an environment in Texas where people want to live and build their businesses."