Hurricane Beryl Causes Third Major Outage in Houston, Leaves Nearly 600,000 Without Power, CenterPoint Pledges 85% Restoration

Jul 13, 2024, 04:00 PM

Hurricane Beryl, which made landfall on July 8, has caused significant disruption in Houston, Texas, leading to widespread power outages and severe heat-related issues. As of July 14, nearly 600,000 homes and businesses, mostly in Harris County, remain without power, with CenterPoint Energy, the region's main electricity provider, facing criticism for its slow restoration efforts. This marks the city's third major outage this year. The outages have resulted in at least three confirmed heat-related deaths, with reports suggesting the number of fatalities could be higher. The power loss has also led to increased hospital visits for heat-related illnesses and carbon monoxide poisoning due to improper use of home generators. Local businesses, including restaurants, have faced significant financial losses, estimated in the tens of thousands, due to prolonged closures. Elected officials, including Senator Ted Cruz and Governor Greg Abbott, have expressed frustration with CenterPoint's response and are demanding improvements in hurricane preparation and response efforts. CenterPoint has pledged to restore power to 85% of affected customers by the end of the weekend, but many residents remain skeptical. Linemen have described the damage as some of the worst they have seen. CenterPoint's status as a monopoly has also been criticized, as customers have no alternative providers.