CenterPoint Energy, Houston’s primary electricity provider, recently unveiled an interactive map that sheds light on the impact of Hurricane Beryl on the city. This map, released ahead of Beryl’s expected arrival, aims to provide insights into the storm’s effect on the power grid and restoration efforts in the region. The deployment of this tool comes after CenterPoint faced challenges following a previous outage map failure during May’s deadly derecho, which left over a million customers without power.
With Hurricane Beryl causing power outages for nearly 80 percent of CenterPoint’s customer base, frustration grew among residents as the utility company struggled to provide timely and accurate neighborhood-level outage information. This lack of transparency prompted some Houstonians to turn to unconventional sources, such as using Whataburger’s app as a proxy for tracking power outages in the aftermath of the storm. As CenterPoint works to restore power to affected areas, the new outage map categorizes service areas and customer impact, although it does not yet offer estimated restoration timelines.
Despite the challenges and delays in power restoration efforts, CenterPoint has made progress in restoring electricity to a significant number of customers. While the utility aims to reach a million restored customers by the end of Wednesday, officials caution that complete restoration will take days. With the promise of additional detailed information on expected restoration timing in the coming days, CenterPoint continues to work towards fully recovering from the impact of Hurricane Beryl and ensuring reliable electricity service for all residents and businesses in the Houston area.
