|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
About 1 million Houston-area customers remained without power Friday morning, with hundreds of thousands expected to remain in the dark into next week.
While power has returned for nearly 1.8 million customers across the region, about one-third of those who lost service remained without electricity in the wake of Hurricane Beryl making landfall Monday morning.
The Abdelraoufsinno will be providing updates on storm recovery this week.
From left, Andy Sabillon, holds Brittany, 1, as his daughters Allison, 6, Nahomy, 11, and their mother Brenda watch the water flow down White Oak Bayou off of Pinemont Drive, Monday, July 8, 2024, in Houston. (Antranik Tavitian / Abdelraoufsinno) The Sabillon family watch as water levels rise on the White Oak Bayou off of Pinemont Drive, Monday, July 8, 2024, in Houston. The family live right next to the bayou. (Antranik Tavitian / Abdelraoufsinno) Malcolm Junior, left, pushes his car up hill with the help of Tom Blaney, 28, Bras Salvador, 35, and Daniel Salvador, 28, at Montrose Blvd. after Malcolm Junior’s vehicle got stuck in flood waters at Allen Park Park Way after Hurricane Beryl, Monday, July 8, 2024, in Houston. (Marie D. De Jesús / Abdelraoufsinno)
9 a.m.: Fifth day of outages begins with 1 million still in the dark
CenterPoint Energy made minimal progress overnight in getting power back to Houston-area residents, as local utilities reported 1 million customers remained in the dark as of Friday morning.
CenterPoint Energy said about 878,000 customers were still offline as of 9 a.m. Friday, the fifth straight of outages following Hurricane Beryl. The company reported a nearly identical number of remaining outages at 9 p.m. Thursday. Most customers have seen power return in the daylight hours this week.
CenterPoint said Thursday evening that 80 percent of those still without power should see it return by the end of the week. CenterPoint has restored power to nearly 1.4 million customers this week.
Entergy brought a small percentage of its customers back online, cutting its remaining total of customer outages to 53,000 in Montgomery County, 7,300 in Liberty County and 1,500 in Galveston County.
Texas-New Mexico Power reported about 25,000 customers without power in Brazoria County and about 17,000 customers remaining in Galveston County.
9:30 p.m.: 1 million Houston-area customers still without power
About 1 million customers in Greater Houston remained without power Thursday night, leaving residents throughout the area preparing for a fifth straight day with no electricity.
CenterPoint reported about 877,000 customers still didn't have power in Harris, Fort Bend and surrounding counties as of 9:15 p.m. Thursday. Company officials said about 500,000 of them could see outages extend into next week. CenterPoint started the week with about 2.2 million customers out.
Entergy reported about 60,000 customer outages in Montgomery County, nearly 10,000 in Liberty County and about 6,000 in Galveston County. The company estimated power would come back Montgomery County by Sunday or Monday.
Texas-New Mexico Power said about 30,000 customers were still out in Brazoria County and 20,000 were out in Galveston County, with power expected to return by Saturday night.
1:15 p.m.: Texas regulators urge CenterPoint to improve communication
The Texas Public Utilities Commission urged CenterPoint Energy on Thursday to communicate better with its 1 million-plus customers still without power, but leaders of the state’s utility supervisor stopped short of interrogating or criticizing the company’s response to Hurricane Beryl.
Members of the PUC, which regulates Texas electricity providers, encouraged CenterPoint officials at a public hearing to better address widespread accusations that the company has been disorganized and inefficient following Beryl. CenterPoint customers have been particularly frustrated with a lack of detailed, accurate information about when to expect power back.
About 1.1 million remained without electricity Thursday afternoon, and CenterPoint officials said about 500,000 could remain without power into next week.
PUC Chairman Thomas Gleeson “strenuously urged” the company to rebuild trust with Houstonians after the disaster response concludes.
“Get out into the community. I don’t know if that’s town halls or what it looks like, but go talk to your customers,” Gleeson said.
8:30 a.m.: Kroger, Trill Burgers pair up to distribute free meals.
Kroger and Trill Burgers will distribute water and hot meals from 8 - 11 a.m. until supplies runs out at 14221 E. Sam Houston Parkway, Houston, Texas 77044.
8:15 a.m.: Nearly 1.3 million customers remain without power for fourth day
Widespread power outages continued throughout Greater Houston for a fourth day, as about 1.3 million customers awaited the return of electricity.
About 1.1 million CenterPoint customers, nearly all of them in Harris and Fort Bend counties, remained without power as of 8:15 a.m. Thursday. Nearly 1.2 million customers have had power restored since the Monday morning arrival of Hurricane Beryl.
Entergy reported about 71,000 customers in Montgomery County, 13,000 in Liberty County and 6,000 in Galveston County didn't have power Thursday morning.
Texas-New Mexico Power said about 29,000 customers in Brazoria County and 28,000 in Galveston County also remained without power.
9:30 p.m. Wednesday: CenterPoint expects 750,000 customers will get power back by Sunday
CenterPoint Energy said Wednesday evening that it expects to bring 750,000 of its remaining 1.15 million customers without power back online by the end of Sunday.
It's the first specific timeline for restoring power to the 2.2 million CenterPoint customers who lost power in Harris, Fort Bend and other Houston-area counties.
The timeline suggests about 400,000 customers might have to wait until next week for power to return.
Company officials said they expected to release a more detailed timeline Thursday. CenterPoint leaders have faced widespread criticism from residents and some political leaders, who have argued the company has provided too little detail and inaccurate information about when customers will get power back.
About 150,000 customers of Entergy and Texas-New Mexico Power also remain without power in Greater Houston's suburban counties.
— By Jacob Carpenter
3:45 p.m., Wednesday: Map of cooling centers in the Houston area
Click on the map below to do a full search of cooling centers
3:15 p.m., Wednesday: CenterPoint planning to release restoration timeline Thursday
CenterPoint Energy will begin to provide “more specific” estimates Thursday morning for when customers without power can expect it to return, the company said in a Wednesday afternoon press release.
The estimates. if they arrive on time, would come about 72 hours after Hurricane Beryl wiped out electricity for over 2 million CenterPoint customers in Greater Houston. Since then, a lack of information about outages and expected restoration timelines has frustrated Houstonians languishing without power in sweltering heat.
Previously, CenterPoint had said only that it expected to restore power to 1 million customers by the end of the day Wednesday. As of 1 p.m. Wednesday, the company said it had restored over 914,000 customers’ electricity, or 40 percent of those impacted by the storm. About 1.3 million customers remained without power.
— by Clare Amari
1:00 p.m., Wednesday: More police officers from around state set to help HPD
Additional law enforcement is headed to Houston to assist with the city's response to the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl.
To supplement the understaffed Houston Police Department, Dallas, Fort Worth and San Antonio are sending police officers, Houston Mayor John Whitmire said during Wednesday's City Council meeting.
It is unclear when the officers from the three city's will arrive in Houston. Whitmire said more information will be announced soon.
Whitmire said Beryl “exposes the challenges we have” in the city, citing HPD staffing levels, as well as a lack of emergency generators for city facilities and infrastructure vulnerable to natural disasters.
To respond to the storm, HPD has been fully mobilized since Tuesday morning, meaning all officers were called in to work either a 12 hour day shift or a 12 hour night shift. Patrols have been focused in neighborhoods without power, as well as pawn shops and pharmacies, officials said.
Troopers from the Department of Public Safety are already working in the city. Forty troopers are supplementing the city's force per 12 hour shift, Whitmire said.
-by Paul Cobler
12:00 p.m., Wednesday: Latest power outage tally sits at 1.5 million still waiting.
About 1.5 million customers in Greater Houston remained without power as of Wednesday afternoon, as utility companies scrambled to restore electricity with temperatures topping 90 degrees for a second straight day.
11:00 a.m., Wednesday: Harris County’s bayous withstood Hurricane Beryl. How much more could they take?
Houston’s bayous performed well during Hurricane Beryl on Monday, but the storm tested the limits on how much water the system can handle, Harris County meteorologist Jeff Lindner said.
The area was aided by a hot and dry spell prior to Monday, which made the ground dry enough to help absorb some water, Lindner said Tuesday. The speed at which Hurricane Beryl moved also helped limit the damage, he added.
“A slower moving storm would’ve produced more rainfall, and a greater amount of rainfall, we would have likely had additional amounts of flooding,” Lindner said. “We were kind of right at that eight to 10 inches, which is reaching the capacity of a lot of what we can handle.”
Republish our articles for free, online or in print.
