A CenterPoint Energy senior executive told Texas regulators May 23 that slightly more than 27,000 of its customers remain without power a week after a derecho devastated the Houston area with winds exceeding 100 mph.
Jason Ryan, CenterPoint’s executive vice president of regulatory services and government affairs, said during the Public Utility Commission’s open meeting that the utility remains in emergency operations.
“We understand that it’s been a long seven days, that it’s been in excess of 100 degrees in terms of the feels-like temperature and that we still have a lot of work to do,” Ryan said. “We will work day and night until we finish the mission. We appreciate all of our customers and for sticking with us through this unprecedented event.”
He said CenterPoint had only about 15 minutes to prepare for the derecho, which national meteorologists define as a continuous or intermittent path of severe wind from a squall line of thunderstorms. Derechos can extend at least 400 miles and at least 60 miles wide and generate hurricane-force winds.
About 922,000 CenterPoint customers were without power in the storm’s aftermath. That number was down to fewer than 18,000 following the PUC meeting, according to CenterPoint’s performance tracker.
Ryan thanked the more than 5,000 mutual assistance crews from other states that augmented CenterPoint’s 2,000 crew members, noting they have not suffered any serious injuries or deaths.
“That’s probably the proudest accomplishment that I can stress with you,” he told the commissioners. “I look forward to sending these crews home just as safe as they arrived to help our communities.”
The restoration crews replaced more than 800 miles of wires, more than 700 transformers and about 2,000 distribution poles. CenterPoint said in a statement it has also deployed 13 mobile generators to critical facilities, cooling centers, health care facilities, first responder locations, senior centers and schools.
“Everyone I’ve talked to has said you all have done an amazing job responding to an event that you couldn’t really prepare for,” PUC Chair Thomas Gleeson told Ryan. “I’ve heard nothing but good things.”
Wearing a logoed polo shirt instead of his normal suit and several days’ worth of stubble, Ryan said he was returning to CenterPoint’s emergency operations center after his presentation. He said the company’s headquarters in downtown Houston lost more than 500 windows; officials say it could be months before the business district’s windows are repaired.
“While we don’t know when we’ll have access to our building again, it hasn’t impaired our restoration efforts,” Ryan said.
Loan Program Attracts Interest
PUC staff said they have received 10 completed commitments to apply for disbursements from the $5 billion Texas Energy Fund (TEF), which is designed to incent more dispatchable energy to the ERCOT grid. The proposed projects could add more than 4.9 GW of capacity (56455).
Applicants face a May 31 deadline to file notifications that they intend to apply for the funds. Formal applications can be submitted on or after June 1. The loans will be issued by Dec. 31, 2025.
The commission established the TEF in March because of state legislation passed last year. Qualifying projects must add at least 100 MW of dispatchable capacity to the grid. The PUC says the program can support up to 10 GW of new or upgraded generation capacity in ERCOT. (See Texas PUC Establishes $5B Energy Fund.)
NRG Energy accounts for three of the applications. The company said this year that it plans to use TEF loans to help finance construction of two new natural gas-fired plants that would be available in 2026.
Corona Named Executive Director
The commission announced it has promoted interim Executive Director Connie Corona to the official role. She fills the position vacated by Gleeson when he was appointed Texas PUC chair in January. (See Abbott Names PUC Executive Director as Chair.)
“I don’t think it could be any question you’re the right person for this job,” Gleeson told Corona.
Corona has spent 12 years at the commission, sandwiched around a 14-year stint in NRG’s regulatory affairs department.
The PUC also promoted Chief Program Officer Barksdale English to deputy executive director. English joined the commission in 2018 after six years at Austin Energy.
