According to CenterPoint Energy, they have successfully restored power to approximately 85% of the customers who were affected by Hurricane Beryl. This translates to around 1.9 million customers who now have their power back.
According to the company, they are still on schedule to restore services to 90% of their customers by Monday.
In response to Governor Greg Abbott’s request for clarification during a news conference on Sunday afternoon, CenterPoint issued a statement.
“Our main focus is to safely and swiftly restore power to all affected customers. The dedicated restoration crews have been working tirelessly through the weekend and have achieved the fastest restoration rate in the company’s history. By Monday, July 15, we anticipate that 90% of all impacted customers will have their power restored. The restoration crews are now moving towards areas with severe structural damage and localized outages to ensure that all customers who are still without power can have their lights back on as soon as possible.”
The company acknowledges the concerns of its customers and is dedicated to collaborating with the State, local government, regulators, and community leaders to aid in the recovery from Hurricane Beryl and enhance preparedness for future incidents. A comprehensive evaluation of the company’s response is underway to better support its customers and communities during times of need. The company understands the reliance placed upon them and remains committed to providing the necessary assistance.
CenterPoint has shared the plans it made ahead of Hurricane Beryl in a written statement.
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Despite forecasts that the hurricane would largely miss the company’s service territory, CenterPoint secured and readied 3,000 crew members and pre-positioned them safely outside of the projected path of the storm. CenterPoint coordinated with utilities across the state to ensure resources were available across the Texas Gulf Coast region.
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As the forecast trajectory changed, the company quickly called on additional mutual assistance resources to substantially increase crews.
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CenterPoint continues to replenish for material needs year-round. Going into this event the company had 15,000 poles on hand and has used a little over 2,100 poles during restoration. The company has more than 17,000 transformers, but this storm has not required significant transformer replacements.
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“The company has been investing for years to strengthen the Greater Houston area’s resilience to hurricanes and other extreme weather. Over the last five years, CenterPoint has doubled investments in its electric system, including in grid hardening, modernization and resiliency. From 2022 to 2023, the company also increased spending on vegetation management efforts by 32%,” the company said. “As a result of investment to enhance the resiliency of the transmission system, which is the backbone of CenterPoint’s grid, power continued to flow into the Greater Houston area during the storm. This allowed power to be restored more quickly as crews repaired distribution poles and removed over 18,600 trees impacting overhead lines in individual neighborhoods.”
In the aftermath of Beryl hitting the Houston area, CenterPoint discussed the operations that the company carried out.
Hurricane Beryl caused significant damage to distribution poles, lines, and other electrical equipment in the Greater Houston area, with more than 2.2 million CenterPoint Energy customers affected. This was the first time since Hurricane Alicia in 1983 that the region had been hit so directly by the “dirty side” of a hurricane. However, as soon as Beryl left the service area, CenterPoint crews sprang into action, working tirelessly in 16-hour shifts to restore power.
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Set up 21 staging sites, the most we have ever set up to support response efforts;
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Assess damage to the system by walking over 8,500 miles of electric lines;
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Remove over 18,600 weakened trees impacting lines, representing over 75% of distribution circuits;
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Repair or replace over 2,100 of over 1.17 million distribution poles; and
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Position mobile generation units at cooling centers, hospitals, senior living facilities, medicine storage facilities and water treatment plants.
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We have set up a record-breaking 21 staging sites to aid in response efforts.
By walking over 8,500 miles of electric lines, the damage to the system can be assessed.
Over 18,600 weakened trees affecting lines, which accounts for more than 75% of distribution circuits, have been removed.
Out of more than 1.17 million distribution poles, over 2,100 of them were repaired or replaced.
To ensure availability of power during emergencies, it is recommended to position mobile generation units at critical locations such as cooling centers, hospitals, senior living facilities, medicine storage facilities, and water treatment plants.
In just two days, CenterPoint crews were able to bring power back to almost 1 million customers, demonstrating the company’s exceptional level of preparedness and investment in their system. The success of the restoration can be attributed to the tireless work of over 14,000 dedicated crew members from both CenterPoint and mutual assistance teams, who worked relentlessly in difficult conditions to restore power to affected areas.
CenterPoint is currently conducting a review of its response to Beryl.
CenterPoint has already outlined its priorities in response to the recent event. The company aims to enhance customer communications, introduce a new cloud-based outage tracker as the primary source of information, and gather community feedback to drive future restoration efforts. Moreover, CenterPoint is committed to investing in the resiliency of its electric system. In April, the company filed a $2.7 billion plan to invest in system hardening, grid modernization, flood mitigation, and vegetation management.
According to the company, there is misinformation circulating on news and social media regarding payment to mutual assistance crews. However, they have taken steps to address this issue.
“Consistent with industry standards that enable the rapid sharing of resources, CenterPoint’s mutual assistance contracts are pre-negotiated, including payment terms. Crews have not and are not being held back due to negotiations on pay. The company reimburses for all costs incurred to provide the assistance, including wages,” the company said.