HOUSTON — CenterPoint said it will have power restored to 80% of its customers by Sunday night. As of Friday evening, there were 814,081 customers without power, which means that will leave nearly 300,000 customers still in the dark.
“The remaining customers are going to be the hardest hit customers, that have trees down, that it’s just not a quick fix. And we just ask for their continued patience,” Paul Lock with CenterPoint said.
However, patience is hard to come by in the Houston area. People and politicians are calling for accountability.
The company is quick to point to the numbers. It’s restored power to 1.4 million people. It has more than 12,000 people on the job. CenterPoint said it has never in the company’s history restored power to so many. For those who are still sweating it out, CenterPoint’s message is a slap in the face.
"In the first 48 hours, we restored nearly half of our customers,” CenterPoint CEO Jason Wells said in a message on the company’s YouTube channel. “We have been working tirelessly since that storm made its way through our system, restoring customers.”
Tracy Vaughns said she has been living in her SUV with her dog and cat since Monday morning. She said she has been circling her neighborhood looking for ice to salvage the little food she has left.
“It’s heartbreaking. Some of this stuff I’m going to have to throw away,” Vaughns said. “I’m going to have to just throw my food away … once again.”
Vaughns said during the May derecho, she lost power for seven days and her food perished. Now, she is experiencing it again.
As of Friday evening, CenterPoint’s outage tracker gave no estimated restoration time for Vaughns’ neighborhood. The company said it simply could not provide one for everyone.
“What we are seeing through where we are in this stage of restoration is more extensive damage, more extensive work,” Wells said.
Vaughns questioned how many days it would be this time.
“He needs to be fired. Dude, help the citizens of Houston,” Vaughns said. “There’s no reason any of us should be like this.”
It’s worrisome for Vaughns and others who are questioning whether CenterPoint is prepared for what might come next.
“You know it’s hurricane season. You know how Houston is in hurricane season. Make arrangements,” she said.
Five days after Beryl, Vaughns was relying on the kindness of her daughter who now has power.
“I got to get a couple changes of clothes because I don’t know how long I’ll be,” she said.
KHOU 11 asked on Friday to speak with CenterPoint’s CEO. The company responded with the following statement.
“Due to our continued focus on our hurricane restoration efforts, we are unable to accommodate your request.”
Meanwhile, there are plenty of people, including Acting Texas Gov. Dan Patrick, calling for CenterPoint to be held accountable for its response.