CenterPoint Energy, the primary utility serving East Texas, is grappling with a severe outage aftermath caused by Storm Beryl, leaving over two million customers without electricity. The company has indicated that customers in the worst-hit areas should prepare for an extended period without power.
CenterPoint Energy, responsible for supplying power in and around Houston, reported that peak outages reached approximately 2.26 million customers on Monday, with only slight reductions since then. In response, the utility is exploring the deployment of mobile generation units to critical facilities such as cooling centers, healthcare facilities, police and fire stations, senior centers, and educational institutions.
Lynnae Wilson, Senior Vice President for Electric Business at CenterPoint, emphasized their mobilization efforts: “We are leveraging all available resources, including mutual assistance from other utility companies, to swiftly and safely restore power to our customers. We recognize the challenges of prolonged outages, particularly in the heat.”
CenterPoint has commenced damage assessments to its infrastructure and is rerouting power to undamaged transmission lines. The utility plans to release restoration estimates once damage assessments are complete. However, customers in the hardest-hit areas are advised to prepare for a prolonged outage period.
“This restoration effort will span multiple days,” noted Thomas Gleeson, Chairman of the state’s Public Utility Commission, acknowledging the extensive impact of the power outages. “It will take several days to fully restore service.”
