CenterPoint Energy accepts customer complaints
CenterPoint Energy received information from customers about their response to Hurricane Beryl and FOX 26’s Jade Flury is reporting on the event.
HOUSTON – CenterPoint Energy is asking the public for feedback on the power outages caused by Hurricane Beryl. The energy supplier is holding open houses in the greater Houston area starting Saturday.
“Most importantly, we want to gather their feedback and hear from them about how we can continue to improve,” said Alyssia Oshodi, communications director for CenterPoint Energy.
The utility said the event was part of its Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative, a plan to reduce the risk of power outages after severe storms. The plan comes after CenterPoint came under criticism from Houston residents and lawmakers for its handling of the outages following Hurricane Beryl.
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“We have set targets for vegetation management, pole replacement and some equipment and installations,” Oshodi said.
Maya Williams came to the event to tell CenterPoint Energy how she feels about her electric bill. She wants to make sure she is being billed correctly and is concerned about overgrown trees near power lines.
“We can’t control the wind, but we can control what the wind blows onto our power lines. It’s just common sense,” said Maya Williams, a resident of the University of Houston corridor.
Williams said she spent a whopping $4,000 on a generator after the hurricane. She blames CenterPoint’s unreliable service for causing her to spend thousands.
“No power for several days. A tree fell and destroyed part of my neighbor’s property and my own property,” Williams said.
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CenterPoint Energy said they are now taking about 40 actions to strengthen the grid and reduce the risk of outages. Since launching the Greater Houston Area Resiliency Initiative on Aug. 5, CenterPoint Energy says it has replaced about 1,000 wooden poles with stronger fiberglass poles, trimmed vegetation and installed 300 automated devices called trip savers. Many say this process should have been done before the hurricane.
“We pay too much for electricity for this to be that shaky,” Williams said.
Saturday marked the first of 16 open houses that will take place throughout Houston over the next six weeks. Find more information and venues here.
