Governor Directs CenterPoint To Improve Their Severe Weather Preparation, Response Practices

AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott today sent a letter to the President and Chief Executive Officer of CenterPoint Energy, Jason P. Wells, directing him to adequately prepare CenterPoint Energy for the next severe weather event in Southeast Texas by improving its preparation and response practices.

“In the wake of Hurricane Beryl’s landfall, CenterPoint Energy has lost the faith and trust of Texans,” reads the letter. “Indeed, nearly 2.2 million residential and commercial customers in Southeast Texas lost power during the peak of the storm, and many continue to suffer without electricity more than a week after the storm. Texans deserve better from their electrical companies, especially during hurricane season. The adequacy of your preparation will be analyzed in the coming months, but the time is now for CenterPoint Energy to improve its practices.”

In the letter, the Governor requests CenterPoint provide the Office of the Governor with the following plan by July 31, 2024, to address power issues: 

• Identify how CenterPoint Energy will complete the elimination of all vegetation issues by August 31, 2024.
• Specify all actions CenterPoint Energy will take in the future that it failed to do during the preparation for and response to Hurricane Beryl that will reduce or eliminate power outages for your customers.
• Ensure that CenterPoint Energy has a sufficient number of pre-staged workers to be able to immediately respond to any power outages that may occur for any tropical storm or hurricane that hits your service area.
• Describe how CenterPoint Energy will retain or quickly restore power for at-risk Texans in hospitals, nursing homes, and senior living facilities.
• Describe how CenterPoint Energy’s pole replacement process for Hurricane Beryl will be accelerated and will prioritize the deployment of new, highly resilient poles before the end of this hurricane season.
• Specify CenterPoint Energy’s plan to improve communication with its customers before, during and after a weather event. Additionally, how CenterPoint Energy will ensure the failure of its outage tracker during Hurricane Beryl will be reconciled.

If CenterPoint Energy fails to comply with this directive or provides insufficient information to the Office of the Governor by July 31, the Governor will issue an Executive Order in response to any impending tropical storm or hurricane to impose needed requirements on CenterPoint Energy. The Executive Order would be aimed at keeping the power on throughout hurricane season and until the next legislative session.

Additionally, if CenterPoint Energy does not comply, the Governor will oppose requests brought to the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) by CenterPoint Energy to raise utility rates on Texans or to obtain any profit or rate of return. Texas would also consider limiting the utility service area of CenterPoint Energy. 

Earlier this week, Governor Abbott issued a letter to the PUC directing them to launch an investigation regarding utility companies' inability to restore power following Hurricane Beryl's landfall.  

Read the Governor's letter to CenterPoint Energy.