DALLAS – Nearly a week after Hurricane Beryl ravaged Texas, around 270,000 homes and businesses in the Houston area are still without power according to the official news source abcnews.
Governor Greg Abbott has called for an investigation into the response and preparedness of CenterPoint Energy, the utility company serving the area.
Governor Abbott’s Call for Investigation
Governor Abbott held his first news conference regarding Hurricane Beryl since returning from an economic development trip to Asia. He emphasized the necessity for power companies along the Gulf Coast to be adequately prepared for hurricanes.
“Power companies along the Gulf Coast must be prepared to deal with hurricanes, to state the obvious,” Abbott said.
Abbott announced that he would send a letter to the Public Utility Commission of Texas, demanding an investigation into the delayed restoration efforts.
He also requested detailed plans from CenterPoint Energy by the end of the month on how they will mitigate future power outages, including measures to remove vegetation threatening power lines.
CenterPoint Energy’s Response
In response to Abbott’s demands, CenterPoint Energy stated that its top priority is to restore power to the remaining affected customers as safely and quickly as possible.
The utility expects to have power restored to 90% of its customers by Monday. CenterPoint also pledged to collaborate with state and local leaders and conduct a thorough review of their response to the hurricane.
Brad Tutunjian, vice president for regulatory policy at CenterPoint Energy, explained that extensive damage to trees and power poles had significantly hampered their ability to restore power quickly.
According to a post on CenterPoint’s website by its president and CEO, Jason Wells, over 2,100 utility poles were damaged, and more than 18,600 trees had to be removed from power lines, affecting over 75% of the utility’s distribution circuits.
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Community Impact and Future Preparations
The prolonged power outages have left many Houston residents struggling in the oppressive summer heat. The community is looking to state officials and CenterPoint Energy for reassurance and solutions to prevent similar situations in the future.
CenterPoint Energy’s commitment to strengthening the area’s resilience to storms is crucial. However, the recent events have shown that more proactive measures are needed to ensure quicker and more efficient power restoration in the face of natural disasters.