HOUSTON — Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick had strong words for CenterPoint following the power company’s response to Hurricane Beryl’s power outages that continue in the Houston area.
At the height of the storm, more than 2.5 million power customers were in the dark. Most of those – nearly 2.3 million – were CenterPoint customers. By Sunday at 3 p.m., nearly a week after the storm, there were just under 400,000 customers still without power.
Both Abbott and Patrick said the state legislature will take up the reliability of power companies, but Abbott said because we're in hurricane season, action can’t wait.
RELATED: Houston-area power outage tracker
“I will give CenterPoint until July 31 to provide my office with specific actions that they will take to address the following issues that focus on improving power reliability,” Abbott said at a news conference at Gallery Furniture Sunday.
Abbott said first, they need to explain what they will do to remove vegetation, and he said to do it by August 31. He cited a report done by KHOU 11’s Jeremy Rogalski that showed CenterPoint spent less than other companies in vegetation removal.
Abbott also said that CenterPoint needs to tell his office what they’ll do in the coming months to ensure we won’t have the outages we saw in Beryl.
And third – Abbott said CenterPoint must outline what they’ll do to make sure there will be an adequate number of line workers ready to immediately respond to widespread outages. That’s something else Rogalski reported on last week.
Patrick said the top priority right now is to get the power back on. But after that, he wants CenterPoint to answer questions about their response. And he warned those calling the shots for CenterPoint that "a freight train's coming."
“I asked ten questions, posed ten questions that we will ask during Senate hearings, and we will have Senate hearings,” Patrick promised.
He said those hearings would be in August.
“CenterPoint has to understand, as does every utility company on the coast, that any time there's a tropical storm in the Gulf, whether it's predicted to be a hurricane or not, you have to prepare as if it's going to be the worst storm to hit Houston, where the biggest population is, or any area they cover or any other company,” he said.
Patrick said when it comes to tropical weather, you have to pray for the best, but prepare for the worst.
“CenterPoint did not prepare for even the least,” he said. “And that's why we are here. This is not tolerable," Patrick said.
He ended with a warning to CenterPoint.
“CenterPoint, you better respond or we will support the governor, if need be, looking at the territory you represent,” he said.
In response to Abbott, CenterPoint issued the following statement:
Our top priority is restoring power to the remaining impacted customers as safely and quickly as possible. Dedicated restoration crews have continued working around-the-clock through the weekend, restoring power at the fastest rate in the company's history. On Monday, July 15, we expect to have restored power to 90% of all impacted customers. Our restoration crews are now converging on remaining areas with significant structural damage as well as localized outages to get the lights back on for those customers who are without power.
We have heard and understand our customers’ frustrations, and we are committed to working together with the State, local government, regulators, and community leaders both to help the Greater Houston area recover from Hurricane Beryl and to improve for the future. We are committed to doing a thorough review of our response to support our customers and our communities, especially when they need us most. We know they are counting on us, and we are committed to being there for them.
Below is the letter Gov. Abbott sent to Thomas Gleason, chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Texas.