When Will Power Be Restored in Houston? CenterPoint Provides Update Following Hurricane Beryl

Hurricane Beryl struck the Greater Houston area on Monday, causing widespread power outages affecting over 3 million customers, predominantly serviced by CenterPoint Energy. City officials and power companies have warned that recovery from this extensive damage will likely span several days.

In a Monday night update, CenterPoint indicated their goal to restore power to 1 million customers by the end of Wednesday, acknowledging that the hardest-hit areas could face prolonged outages. As of 9:30 p.m., approximately 1.8 million CenterPoint customers remained without electricity.

Efforts are underway to assess the damage and initiate repairs as swiftly as possible. However, unlike previous hurricanes, the staging of thousands of out-of-town crews in advance did not occur. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick reported at least 10 transmission lines down due to the storm’s impact.

CenterPoint Energy has mobilized approximately 11,500 personnel to assess and repair the damaged infrastructure. They are augmenting their internal workforce of 1,500 with an additional 10,000 resources from other utility companies to expedite restoration efforts. The company plans to expand staging sites across the affected areas to 12 to facilitate operations.

Lynnae Wilson from CenterPoint emphasized their commitment to restoring power safely and quickly, recognizing the challenges of prolonged outages, particularly in hot weather conditions. The company is actively updating outage information every 5 to 15 minutes on their Storm Center website and encourages customers to enroll in Power Alert Service® for personalized restoration updates.

Once damage assessments are completed, CenterPoint will provide estimated timelines for substantial restoration of the electrical system. They are also evaluating the deployment of mobile generation units to critical facilities such as cooling centers, healthcare facilities, and senior centers.

Customers of other utilities, such as Entergy Texas and Texas New Mexico Power, are also experiencing significant outages, with restoration efforts underway in their respective service areas.

For safety, CenterPoint advises against using generators indoors due to the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. They continue to provide additional safety tips and hurricane preparedness resources on their website and social media channels.

As the community navigates through this challenging period, CenterPoint and other utility providers remain dedicated to restoring normalcy as quickly and safely as possible.