CenterPoint sued over Houston power outages caused by Hurricane Beryl

A group of Houston restaurants that lost power for days after Hurricane Beryl have sued the city’s main utility, accusing CenterPoint Energy Inc. of failing to invest enough in infrastructure and responding to widespread power outages.

The lawsuit, filed by several restaurants and restaurant groups in state court in Houston, claims CenterPoint failed to adequately plan for the storm and failed to make “reasonable power restoration efforts” after customers lost power. The companies are seeking unspecified damages to cover the costs of business interruption, property damage and repairs, lost profits and other expenses.

“All of the restaurants that filed the lawsuit initially lost power due to Hurricane Beryl, but that loss inexplicably continued due to CenterPoint Energy’s incompetence and complete negligence,” Tony Buzbee, a prominent Houston attorney representing the restaurants, said in a statement.

Related: Hurricane Beryl caused insured losses estimated at $2.5 billion to $4.5 billion, according to Moody’s

Buzbee’s is seeking class-action status for the case, which would allow other affected restaurants to join the action as plaintiffs.

More than 2.5 million homes and businesses in Texas lost power after the storm struck on July 8, including about 1.9 million CenterPoint customers. Restoration efforts have been slow, with large swaths of the city left in the dark for days. On Monday, the utility said it was on track to restore power to 90% of its affected customers, a week after the storm hit.

CenterPoint has come under heavy criticism from state leaders over the ongoing power outages. Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the company to develop a detailed plan to improve power reliability in future storms and threatened executive action if it didn’t. He also ordered the Public Utility Commission of Texas to investigate allegations that the company was “cutting corners and cutting corners” before the storm.

Related: Insurers See Minimal Impact From Hurricane Beryl, But Brace for Active Season

In a statement responding to Abbott, the company said crews worked “around the clock over the weekend, restoring power at the fastest pace in the company’s history.”

“We have heard and understood the frustrations of our customers,” the statement said. “We are committed to conducting a thorough review of our response to support our customers and communities, especially when they need us most.”

The case is Berg Hospitality Group LLC v. CenterPoint Energy, 2024-44198, District Court of Texas, Harris County (165th District).

CenterPoint support crews work to restore power lines in Houston, Texas, on July 11.

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