510,000 without power Saturday night as CenterPoint restoration work continues – Houston Public Media

Celeste Schurman

CenterPoint officials say they remain on track to meet restoration goals by the end of the weekend.

As of 6 p.m., 510,000 customers were without power. The company’s goal is to restore power to 85 percent of the 2.2 million customers who were without power during Hurricane Beryl by the end of the day Sunday.

“Our crews are working through heat, storms and rain to address the more than 12,100 downed trees, as well as impacts from billboards, metal roof sections and other debris carried by high and sustained winds onto poles, lines and other equipment,” a CenterPoint spokesperson said in a statement Saturday.

RELATED: Hurricane Beryl’s path across the western Houston area made it a particularly destructive Category 1 hurricane.

That means hundreds of thousands of people in the Houston area would still be without power a week after Beryl hit the region as a Category 1 hurricane.

The company’s speed and ability to restore power have made it the target of much criticism in recent days.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Houston) on Friday night called on the Justice Department to open an investigation into CenterPoint.

“CenterPoint, the only investor-owned electric and gas utility in Texas, has failed to respond accordingly,” she wrote in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland.

Rep. Al Green (D-Houston) demanded transparency from CenterPoint at a news conference Saturday and said the company should hold regular meetings with the media to answer questions and provide more information to the public.

RELATED: Biden administration approves individual aid for Texans in 15 counties affected by Hurricane Beryl