Governor Greg Abbott on Sunday lashed out at utility CenterPoint Energy, which has yet to restore power to hundreds of thousands of customers in the Houston area, and ordered the company to take steps to improve power reliability.
In his first public appearance since returning from a pre-planned economic development trip to Asia, the governor asked CenterPoint to send his office a detailed plan by the end of the month outlining how it will prepare differently for future hurricanes. this season. Abbott said the plan should include better preparing electricians, increasing the number of workers to restore power and pruning trees that could fall on power lines.
If CenterPoint does not comply with its request, the governor said he will issue an executive order imposing his own demands on the company. And he said that if the utility is unable to “resolve its ongoing problems,” the state will have to reconsider the breadth of territory it serves. CenterPoint maintains the wires, poles and electrical infrastructure serving more than 2.6 million Texas customers in the Houston metro area and select coastal communities like Galveston.
“Maybe they have too large an area to be able to manage properly,” Abbott said. “It’s time to reevaluate whether or not CenterPoint should have such a large territory.”
The governor also sent on Sunday a letter to Thomas Gleeson, chairman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, ordering him to launch an investigation into CenterPoint and deliver a report on his findings by December 1. He said allegations that CenterPoint was “cutting corners and cutting corners” should be investigated. Was CenterPoint protecting Texans or protecting its own pocketbook?” Abbott said at the press conference.
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who leads the Texas Senate, said the chamber will also hold hearings starting in August to ask CenterPoint questions about its business. After the press conference, Patrick shared ten questions on social media he plans to ask company employees, including: “Are Houston and surrounding areas still IMPORTANT to CenterPoint? Are your customers your number one priority in your mission statement and future planning?”
“These are fair and legitimate questions,” Patrick said.
The company has faced increasing criticism since Hurricane Beryl hit the Gulf Coast and knocked out power to nearly 3 million Texans. Both the public and elected officials say CenterPoint failed to communicate clearly with customers and restore power efficiently. For days after the storm left Texas, the company offered no clear timeline for when power would be restored. Houstonians say a map showing when they will get power back is unreliable and riddled with errors.
“The communications component of CenterPoint is unacceptable,” Abbott told reporters. “Fixes are coming, like it or not.”
In some cases, customers became violent toward CenterPoint workers, behavior that Abbott strongly rebuked and said the state would not tolerate. Patrick said the Texas Legislature would consider legislation that increases the penalty for crimes against people working to restore power.
[“Get back up and go”: CenterPoint linemen take on a broken grid as Houstonians seethe]
“Who will come to Texas and help Houstonians if Houstonians are shooting at them?” said Patricio. “This must stop.”
Sunday’s press conference came a day after former President Donald Trump survived shootings that the FBI is investigating as an assassination attempt. Abbott condemned this act of violence and praised the former president, calling him “the most powerful warrior we have in the United States of America.”
“Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident,” Abbott said, noting that a Harris County sheriff’s deputy was shot and killed earlier this week. “This is completely unacceptable. The attack on public officials is an outrage.”
Sunday’s briefing was held inside Gallery Furniture, which store owner Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale opened Monday as a shelter for people who needed food, water or a place to charge their cellphones.
The press conference marked Abbott’s first public briefing since the storm hit Matagorda County on Monday. The governor spent last week visiting politicians and business leaders in South Korea, Taiwan and Japan. Patrick served as governor while Abbott was overseas, requesting a disaster declaration from President Joe Biden and holding informational meetings throughout Southeast Texas after the storm.
Abbott emphasized that lawmakers will work together to craft legislation during the next legislative session to improve energy reliability, but that steps must be taken now since more hurricanes could be imminent. Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, and federal forecasters predict the most storms ever for the 2024 season.
Abbott asked CenterPoint to remove vegetation around power lines by Aug. 31. CenterPoint officials said during a meeting before the PUC this week that damaged trees were a leading cause of infrastructure damage and outages in the wake of Beryl.
Abbott also cited reports that CenterPoint may have been “caught off guard” by the magnitude of Beryl and the level of devastation it caused in Houston. The storm was originally forecast to have the greatest impact on south Texas, but it turned northeast and ended up hitting areas further north.
By the end of the month, the company must specify how it will prepare enough workers to immediately respond to future power outages, Abbott said.
Patrick said CenterPoint may have a “flawed business model” if it requires several days to train employees and one day to conduct assessments before returning power to most customers.
CenterPoint officials did not respond to questions about the governor’s order. The organization’s media relations team said in an email that it plans to issue a statement Sunday afternoon.
Disclosure: CenterPoint Energy has financially supported The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in Tribune journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
Big news: director and screenwriter Richard Linklater; NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher; US Representative Pete Aguilar, D-California; It is Luci Baines Johnson will take the stage at Texas Tribune FestivalSeptember 5-7 in downtown Austin. Buy tickets today!
