According to CenterPoint Energy, Hurricane Beryl had left roughly 1.9 million customers without power. However, the crews have successfully restored power to over 85% of these customers.
According to the company, they are still on schedule to restore services for 90% of their customers by Monday.
In response to Governor Greg Abbott’s inquiry during a news conference on Sunday afternoon, CenterPoint issued a statement.
“Our main focus is to restore power to all affected customers as quickly and safely as possible. Our dedicated restoration crews have been working tirelessly around the clock, and as a result, we have restored power at a faster rate than ever before. By Monday, July 15th, we anticipate that 90% of all impacted customers will have their power restored. Our restoration teams are currently concentrating their efforts on areas with significant structural damage and localized outages to ensure that all remaining customers have their power restored as soon as possible.”
“We understand and acknowledge the frustrations of our customers and are dedicated to collaborating with the State, local government, regulators, and community leaders to aid in the recovery process of Hurricane Beryl and to enhance future efforts. Our commitment lies in conducting a comprehensive evaluation of our response to provide utmost support to our customers and communities, particularly during times of need. We recognize their reliance on us, and we are resolute in our pledge to stand by them.”
CenterPoint shared their plans 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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CenterPoint took proactive measures to prepare for the hurricane, even though it was predicted to bypass the company’s service area. They secured and readied 3,000 crew members and strategically positioned them outside of the forecasted path of the storm. CenterPoint collaborated with other utilities in the area to ensure sufficient resources were available throughout the Texas Gulf Coast region.
The company responded swiftly to the changing forecast trajectory by calling on additional mutual assistance resources and significantly increasing their crews.
During the year, CenterPoint consistently restocks their inventory to meet their material needs. Currently, the company had 15,000 poles on hand before the event, and only a little over 2,100 poles were utilized during the restoration process. Although CenterPoint has more than 17,000 transformers, this particular storm did not necessitate significant transformer replacements.
CenterPoint has been investing in the Greater Houston area to improve its resilience to hurricanes and extreme weather for several years. In the past five years, the company has doubled its investments in the electric system, including grid hardening, modernization, and resiliency. Furthermore, the company increased its spending on vegetation management efforts by 32% from 2022 to 2023. According to the company, the transmission system, which is the backbone of CenterPoint’s grid, was made more resilient due to these investments. As a result, power continued to flow into the Greater Houston area during the storm, enabling quicker power restoration as crews repaired distribution poles and removed over 18,600 trees that were impacting overhead lines in individual neighborhoods.
In the aftermath of Beryl hitting the Houston area, CenterPoint shared details regarding their operations.
Hurricane Beryl left a significant impact on the Greater Houston area as it was hit directly by the storm’s “dirty side”, which hasn’t happened since Hurricane Alicia in 1983. The extreme winds in combination with weakened trees and vegetation caused extensive damage to distribution poles, lines, and other electrical equipment, affecting over 2.2 million CenterPoint Energy customers. However, as soon as the storm left the company’s service area, CenterPoint crews sprang into action, working tirelessly in 16-hour shifts to address the damage caused by Hurricane Beryl.
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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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For this particular response effort, we have gone above and beyond our usual efforts and set up a total of 21 staging sites. This is the largest number of staging sites we have ever established to support such an operation.
By walking more than 8,500 miles of electric lines, assess the damage to the system.
The team successfully removed over 18,600 weakened trees that were impacting lines, which represented more than 75% of distribution circuits.
Out of the 1.17 million distribution poles, more than 2,100 have been repaired or replaced.
Place mobile generation units at cooling centers, hospitals, senior living facilities, medicine storage facilities, and water treatment plants for effective power supply.
In just two days, CenterPoint crews were able to successfully restore power to nearly 1 million customers. This impressive feat is a clear indication of the company’s thorough preparation and investment in their system. However, the true heroes are the 14,000 CenterPoint and mutual assistance crew members who have tirelessly worked long hours in difficult conditions to ensure power is restored to those in need.
CenterPoint is currently conducting an evaluation of its reaction to Beryl.
According to the company, CenterPoint is already taking action to improve its response to events like this. The company has identified several key areas of focus, including enhancing communication with customers, launching a new cloud-based outage tracker to provide customers with reliable information, and seeking feedback from communities to guide future restoration efforts. Additionally, CenterPoint is committed to investing in the resiliency of its electric system by implementing a $2.7 billion plan that includes system hardening, grid modernization, flood mitigation, and vegetation management.
According to the company, there is a lot of misinformation circulating on news and social media platforms regarding payment to mutual assistance crews. They have taken steps to clarify the situation and set the record straight.
According to CenterPoint, their mutual assistance contracts are already pre-negotiated with payment terms, which is in line with industry standards that promote the swift sharing of resources. Therefore, crews are not experiencing any delays due to negotiations regarding their pay. Moreover, the company covers all costs, including wages, incurred in providing assistance.
In the company’s own words, “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.”