When will power be restored?

HOUSTON — CenterPoint Energy confirmed its system suffered “significant damage” after fast-moving storms hit the Houston area Thursday.

At the peak of the power outages, more than 900,000 homes and businesses were left without power. Non-essential workers were asked to stay home after the outages caused some traffic lights to go out.

CenterPoint Energy warned customers to “prepare for extended weather-related power outages.”

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The problems spread to the city’s suburbs, with emergency officials in neighboring Montgomery County calling damage to transmission lines “catastrophic” and warning that power could be affected for several days.

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CenterPoint has released the following statement to customers. As of 5:40 a.m., more than 737,000 customers were without power, with significant outages in west Houston and the Cypress area. That’s down from 750,000 at 4:20 a.m.

“Several of our facilities were damaged within our service territory in the Houston area. As the line of severe weather has moved through our area, our crews can now safely begin to assess the damage, but we can confirm that we have sustained damage. significant damage to our system. Restoration efforts will begin this evening (Thursday evening), but will intensify during the day as damage becomes more visible. We are committed to restoring power to our customers as safely and quickly as possible.

“When restoring power, we start with facilities vital to safety, health and well-being, such as hospitals, water treatment plants and utility facilities. While taking care of key installations, we follow our priority restoration process by repairing electrical installations that will restore power. to as many customers as possible first. We then continue the restoration process, prioritizing repairs to benefit the greatest number of customers, until power is restored to everyone. Throughout the restoration process, we remain in contact with local emergency management agencies, the media and the public. civil servants.

“We would like to remind our customers to stay at least 35 feet away from low, fallen power lines or lines that may be in standing water and to call 911 and report them to us at 713-207-2222. “

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