Houston Power Company Outage Update Sparks Anger

Texans are angry at a Houston power company for asking them to stop calling about the power outage.

More than 770,000 people are still without power in Texas, according to poweroutage.us, after intense storms hit parts of the state Thursday evening and killed at least four people.

Some 719,984 of them appear to be customers of CenterPoint Energy, which said in a news release that restoring power could take “several days,” with the hardest-hit areas taking even longer as infrastructure were seriously damaged in 2017. several locations.

The provider was apparently overwhelmed with calls, as it posted an update on social media Friday morning asking people to help keep the phone lines open.

It said: “Our smart meter technology lets us know when your power is out, so there’s no need to wait to speak to an agent. Please keep phone lines open for those reporting hazardous conditions following today’s severe weather. »

He added that people could get updates from the Power Alert service, saying that “is within what an agent is capable of providing.”

Several people were unhappy with this situation, with a few saying the alerts weren’t working.

Lisa (@Echo20Oblivion) ​​said: “The power alert isn’t working and neither is your outage tracker. We’re literally left in the dark.”

Similarly, Sharon K Roberts (@teachjourno) commented: “Good to know when we have an emergency, it doesn’t work. »

Joel Goldberg (@Wannabafana) also referenced this when he said: “I can’t even get the alert service to work. »

Susie-Q (@TXSunshineSusie) posted: “Your power alerts just aren’t enough. They’ve been non-existent for several months.”

News week contacted CenterPoint Energy to ask if the alerts work.

Meanwhile, @ZombiieGirll complained about not knowing when to expect power to return. She wrote: “You won’t even give an estimate! Some of us have people living with us who have medical equipment in their homes to keep them alive – a time estimate wouldn’t kill you.”

CenterPoint included this issue in its press release when it said: “Customers who rely on electricity for their vital equipment (such as customers with chronic illnesses or intensive care) are encouraged to implement a contingency plan, as CenterPoint Energy cannot guarantee uninterrupted operation. Power source.”

Key Ashley (@KeiAshleybanks) said: “The time you wasted making this tweet you could have given an hour. I tried calling so I could ask when the power will be restored! That’s literally all we need to know. »

@MCKBetting posted: “I’m going to keep calling and blocking lines until you do your job properly.”

CenterPoint Energy noted that more than 72 percent of its customers currently have electricity.

From a press release Friday: “Crews began working overnight to restore power to affected customers as safely and quickly as possible.

“There are currently more than 2,000 employees and contractors deployed, with approximately 4,000 linemen and 1,000 vegetation professionals tapped for mutual support.

“While there is still significant damage to assess, crews made progress overnight to restore more than 180,000 customers over the past 12 hours.”

Lynnae Wilson, senior vice president of Electric Business, said some Texas infrastructure suffered “significant” damage, and “restoration efforts are expected to take several days,” and that some of the hardest-hit areas could take more time.

She added, “We are mobilizing all of our available resources, as well as the mutual aid resources of nearby utility companies, to begin the process of quickly and safely restoring power to our customers. We appreciate our customers’ patience and understanding as we focus on the important work ahead.”