Celeste Schurman
CenterPoint officials say they remain on track to hit 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 lost power during Hurricane Beryl by end of day Sunday.
“Our crews are working through the heat, storms and rain to address the more than 12,100 downed trees, as well as the impacts of billboards, portions of metal roofs and other debris carried by sustained high winds into poles, lines and other equipment,” a CenterPoint spokesperson said in a statement Saturday.
That still means hundreds of thousands in the Houston region would be without electricity one week after Beryl struck the region as a category one hurricane.
The company’s speed and ability to restore power has made it a lightning rod for criticism in recent days.
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Houston) late Friday asked the Department of Justice to open an investigation into CenterPoint.
“CenterPoint, the only investor owned electric and gas utility based 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 Saturday news conference and said the company should be holding regular media availabilities to answer questions and get more information to the public.