On Monday, Texas lawmakers will have the opportunity to directly question CenterPoint Energy as they investigate the company’s handling of Hurricane Beryl, which left millions of Texans in the dark.
The hearings at the Capitol building in Austin will critically examine the energy provider’s response capabilities to severe weather events. Top executives from CenterPoint Energy, including president and CEO Jason Wells, will attend.
The company’s response to the hurricane has come under intense scrutiny after more than 2 million customers experienced prolonged power outages, some lasting over a week after the hurricane’s initial landfall, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
“CenterPoint has completely dropped the ball with regard to getting power back on,” said Gov. Abbott at a press conference in Houston earlier in July.
The outages, combined with soaring temperatures after the hurricane, led to dangerous conditions inside homes across the state.
In addition to questioning CenterPoint leaders, lawmakers will examine findings from a state-ordered investigation into the company’s preparedness, as Abbott previously ordered.
“To help Texans in the Greater Houston area and to avoid a repeat of unacceptable power outages, I will give CenterPoint until the end of the month to provide my office with specific actions to address power outages and reduce the possibility that power will be lost during a severe weather event,” Abbott said.
The Public Utility Commission of Texas has been tasked with overseeing the investigation and will develop an online survey for Houstonians to share their Beryl experiences, reported ABC 13. The survey is expected to be available within the next two weeks.
CenterPoint executives have offered a public apology, and Wells has expressed regret for the company’s shortcomings after the hurricane. In a letter addressed to customers, Wells vowed to address the issues and improve CenterPoint’s future responses.
However, critics have continued to raise concerns about whether CenterPoint neglected routine maintenance, particularly when it came to tree management around power lines, per The Texas Tribune. They argue that the company’s failure to mobilize enough workers and resources exacerbated the crisis, which was especially compounded by the company’s inability to communicate updates properly to customers.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Houstonians turned to the Whataburger app, some claiming that the restaurant’s map updates were a much more accurate and timely way to stay updated on outages within the city.
The company has until the end of the year to submit a comprehensive report to Abbott detailing the lapses and corrective measures they will take in the future, according to ABC 13.