HOUSTON — CenterPoint officials have repeatedly said clearing so many downed trees and branches has posed a challenge in restoring power.
But compared to some electricity providers, CenterPoint didn’t spend much on preventative tree maintenance, according to a KHOU 11 Investigates analysis of records with the Public Utility Commission of Texas.
Aracely Arrazolo has lived in her Spring Branch home for more than 10 years, and has been through her share of big storms and power outages.
“And I’ve seen crews out here to trim the trees along the power lines maybe one time,” she said.
A few doors away, her neighbor, Judith Scott, called CenterPoint tree maintenance non-existent.
“Fantasy, because I haven't ever seen them do that,” Scott said.
The Spring Branch neighborhood was ravaged by 100 mile per hour winds during the derecho event in May, and again by Hurricane Beryl. You don’t have to look very far to see trees and branches surrounding power lines.
And Houstonians know what can happen when that’s the case. It’s why after Hurricane Ike in 2008, Texas lawmakers passed a law requiring electricity providers to report how much they spend on vegetation management, per customer, per year.
For utilities serving the Greater Houston area in 2023, some companies spent double or triple what CenterPoint spent per customer. Here’s how much each company spent:
- Entergy spent $32.1 million dollars in vegetation maintenance, or $62.76 per customer.
- Texas New Mexico Power spent $8.1 million or $30.40 per customer.
- CenterPoint spent $46.5 million, or $16.84 per customer.
- AEP Texas spent $11.4 million, or $10.34 per customer.
“It would be very interesting to see their spreadsheets and to see where the funds do go,” said Spring Branch resident Judith Scott.
Scott and her neighbor said they pay their bill every month to CenterPoint, and deserve much better in return.
“We're mad, we want our power,” Arrazolo said. “We want to feel safe in our homes, we want to know that we can survive the storm, and the providers are going to be helping us, and it’s not happening.
CenterPoint spokesperson Logan Anderson provided the following statement:
CenterPoint Energy's customer base of 2.8 million metered customers is the largest of the four utilities in Texas responding to this storm. Because CenterPoint serves substantially more customers, dividing spend by customer does not accurately reflect the impact of our investment in vegetation management.