Governor Greg Abbott today demanded CenterPoint take immediate action to improve their hurricane preparation and response efforts following their repeated and ongoing power failures in the Greater Houston area during a press conference in Houston. The Governor also issued a letter to the Public Utility Commission (PUC) of Texas directing them to launch an investigation regarding utility companies’ inability to restore power following Hurricane Beryl’s landfall. “First and foremost, Texas’ No. 1 goal is to protect life,” said Governor Abbott. “An issue that we see in the ongoing response to Hurricane Beryl are life-based issues, not because of the hurricane itself, but because of the lack of power supply. The failure of power companies to provide power to their customers is unacceptable. CenterPoint has repeatedly failed to deliver power to its customers. 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. If CenterPoint fails to comply, I will issue an Executive Order to impose actions on the company that are geared to keep the power on.” Governor Abbott was joined at the briefing and press conference by Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick; Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) Chief Nim Kidd; Senators Carol Alvarado and Paul Bettencourt; Representatives Briscoe Cain, Charles Cunningham, Dennis Paul, Jon E. Rosenthal, Lacey Hull, Mano DeAyala, Mike Schofield, Sam Harless, and Valoree Swanson; PUC Chairman Thomas J. Gleeson; Gallery Furniture Owner Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale; and other state and local officials. At the press conference, Governor Abbott directed CenterPoint to provide the Office of the Governor with the following action plan by July 31, 2024 on how they will address current power issues and reduce the possibility that power is lost in the future:
- CenterPoint must provide in detail how it plans to remove all vegetation that threatens any power line.
- CenterPoint must specify how it will prepare in advance of any tropical storm that enters the Gulf Coast.
- CenterPoint must specify action it will take to pre-stage enough linemen and other personnel to be able to immediately respond to any power outages that may occur for any tropical storm that hits their service region.
Governor Abbott also discussed Texas’ ongoing recovery efforts to provide needed resources and assistance to impacted Texans and communities, including generators, tarps, fuel, ready-to-eat meals, water, and ice. To date, Texas has distributed more than 5,171,000 bottles of water, more than 679,600 ready-to-eat meals, and more than 206,300 bags of ice to communities. Additionally, Governor Abbott directed TDEM to request additional counties be added to the federal disaster declaration for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Individual Assistance programs. The additional counties include Austin, Bowie, Shelby, Trinity, and Waller. Texas may request additional counties for federal assistance based on completion of damage assessments in impacted communities. A request from Texas to the federal government to reopen the incident period and instead designate it as “continuing” amid the ongoing response and recovery to Hurricane Beryl remains pending with FEMA. Texans are urged to submit online damage surveys to report damage to homes and businesses using the Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool (iSTAT) damage survey. iSTAT surveys can be filled out in English and Spanish by visiting damage.tdem.texas.gov and clicking “July 7th – Ongoing Hurricane/Tropical Storm Beryl.” Information entered into the iSTAT damage survey helps emergency management officials identify immediate resource needs and aids in determining whether the state meets federal requirements for various forms of federal disaster assistance. Reporting damage through the iSTAT tool is a voluntary activity, is not a substitute for reporting damage to your insurance company and does not guarantee disaster relief assistance. Tutorial videos in English and Spanish explaining how to fill out iSTAT surveys are available at damage.tdem.texas.gov. The State of Texas continues to take action to provide all available resources to help support local communities from the impacts of Hurricane Beryl, including: