Texas Governor Urges CenterPoint Actions Over Hurricane Beryl Power Failures; Calls For Probe

(RTTNews) - Texas Governor Greg Abbott, amid the ongoing power failures in the Greater Houston area due to Hurricane Beryl's impact, has demanded that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. take immediate action to improve their hurricane preparation and response efforts.

Noting that millions of Texans have been or were left without electricity for multiple days following Beryl's landfall, Abbott also urged Thomas Gleeson, Chairman, Public Utility Commission or PUC of Texas, to investigate the failure by utility companies in restoring power even after days following the Category 1 Hurricane. The probe will determine the causes of the repeated and ongoing power failures in the area after severe weather events.

Hurricane Beryl, which slammed into Texas last Monday, had knocked out power to nearly 3 million homes and businesses as it toppled trees and nearly 10 transmission lines. The hurricane that killed at least three people were later weakened into a tropical storm and then a tropical depression.

Meanwhile, CenterPoint Energy reportedly said power has been restored to more than 85% of customers, or nearly 1.9 million, who have been without the service since the hurricane. The company remains on track to restore power to nearly 90% of customers on Monday.

During a briefing and press conference, Governor Abbott said, "An issue that we see in the ongoing response to Hurricane Beryl are life-based issues, not because of the hurricane itself, but because of the lack of power supply. The failure of power companies to provide power to their customers is unacceptable. CenterPoint has repeatedly failed to deliver power to its customers."

In order to address current power issues and reduce the possibility of power failures during severe weather event in future, Abbott directed CenterPoint to provide the action plan by July 31, 2024.

They are asked about plans to remove all vegetation that threatens any power line; specify how it will prepare in advance of any tropical storm that enters the Gulf Coast; and to specify action it will take to pre-stage enough linemen and other personnel to be able to immediately respond to any power outages.

If CenterPoint fails to comply, an Executive Order will be issued to impose actions on the company that are geared to keep the power on, he added.

Abbott also discussed Texas' ongoing recovery efforts to provide needed resources and assistance to the impacted Texans and communities. These included generators, tarps, fuel, ready-to-eat meals, water, and ice.

So far, Texas has distributed more than 5.17 million bottles of water, more than 679,600 ready-to-eat meals, and more than 206,300 bags of ice to communities. On July 13, Abbott had announced approval of federal disaster assistance for 17 Texas counties. Further, in his letter to the PUC of Texas, the Texas Governor directed them to investigate how and why some Texas utilities were unable to restore power for days following the hurricane.

According to him, Texas utilities bear the responsibility of ensuring system resiliency in their respective service territories.

While weather-related disasters are outside of human control, their impact to daily lives can be mitigated or alleviated if proper system planning and pre-storm preparations are made, he noted.

Abbott further instructed the PUC to deliver a report on its finding by December 1, to inform the Texas Legislature prior to the 89th Legislative Session.