THE WOODLANDS, Texas — Entergy Texas said it was on track to restore half of all customers impacted by Beryl by the end of Wednesday but some may have to wait until Sunday.
"My heart goes out to them," Entergy President and CEO Eliecer Viamontes said.
He said crews have been working around the clock, with breaks, since Monday. They were staged on Entergy property while others came in from out of state. Entergy serves 27 counties in Southeast Texas on the non-ERCOT side of the power grid.
Viamontes said hurdles to rapidly restoring power in some areas include debris and other hazards.
"Those lines that have multiple trees down, some are 20 or 30 feet away from the line," Viamontes said. "So it takes time to do it. We don’t want to speed through it. Speeding through this process can hurt people or can cause more damage, which can slow the restoration process."
He said he understands frustration having lost power at his own home.
"You know, being without power for so many days can, you know, it definitely is a tough position," Viamontes said. "It’s hard on families. The heat index is high.”
Entergy Texas said about 100,500 customers had been restored since the storm first hit. Again, the company said some customers currently without power might not get it back until Sunday but the goal is to complete work sooner. On Wednesday night, they released estimated restoration dates:
- Bolivar Peninsula (includes Gilchrist, Port Bolivar, and Crystal Beach): No later than 7/12/2024
- Cleveland Network (includes Patton Village, Plum Grove, Splendora, and surrounding areas): No later than 7/14/2024
- Conroe Network (includes Montgomery, Panorama Village, Willis, and surrounding areas): No later than 7/14/2024
- New Caney Network (includes Huffman, Porter, Roman Forest, Woodbranch, Kingwood, and surrounding areas): No later than 7/14/2024
- The Woodlands Network (includes Oak Ridge North, Shenandoah, Woodloch, and surrounding areas): No later than 7/14/2024
Meanwhile, Texas-New Mexico Power, which serves Angleton, Alvin, League City and other areas told us reinforcements from Mississippi and Georgia Power arrived within the last 24 hours.