HOUSTON — Returning to the “scene of the crime,” as Houston state Sen. Molly Cook (D) put it, the Texas Public Utility Commission made a rare trip out of Austin for a public hearing as it investigates CenterPoint Energy’s heavily criticized response to Hurricane Beryl in July.
The Category 1 storm appeared to catch CenterPoint off-guard and knocked out power to more than 2 million of its customers. The Houston utility was excoriated for its poor communications, an outage map that didn’t work and lack of outreach to the community. At least 40 deaths have been attributed to the storm, many related to the extreme heat (indexes reached 106 degrees) during the outages that extended into a second week. (See CenterPoint Energy Still in Eye of the Storm.)
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), a Houston-area resident since 1979, was not on the agenda but opened the Oct. 5 hearing with 30 minutes of prepared remarks. Saying he had no “personal animus” toward CenterPoint, CEO Jason Wells or anyone on the commission, Patrick suggested the utility needs a new leader and threatened the PUC with using the Senate’s subpoena power to conduct its own investigation.
“CenterPoint should have been prepared three and four days after that storm hit Houston, and they were not,” Patrick said. “We were at the state level. They were not. Had they been prepared, I believe much of the misery and damage after the fact would have been averted.
“So, it’s not personal, Mr. Wells. We’ve had good discussions, but CenterPoint needs to have a strong leader who will have foresight, not look back in the rearview. ‘Oh, we’ll fix it now,’” he said. “I believe at this point, the board of CenterPoint should ask for Jason Wells’ resignation, or I believe he should submit it.”
Patrick noted he returned home from California several days before the storm’s July 8 landfall when it became apparent Beryl would hit Texas. A National Weather Service representative backed him up, testifying that the agency had a tropical storm warning in effect July 6 and then expanded it to inland warnings.
“It was a terrible wind event that brought down the trees and power lines and traffic lights. We know all of what happened, but [CenterPoint was] slow,” Patrick said. “They were slow in preparation, procrastination and then communication. People didn’t know where to turn. No one could get a response. It was the poorest response to citizens and elected officials trying to reach them.”
Citing state rules, Patrick said the PUC has the right to audit and review CenterPoint’s management and business operations. Consumer advocates have said the utility has been overcharging customers for years.
“I expect you to do that audit,” he said. “I want to know how much they have been overcharging, if they’ve been overcharging the customers at CenterPoint, and for how long. We need that answer.”
The lieutenant governor also upbraided the PUC for its approval of 2021’s $800 million lease of generators, some designed to restore power to entire neighborhoods but that weren’t used in Beryl’s aftermath. The commission approved CenterPoint’s cost recovery — about $350 million so far —over an administrative law judge’s recommendation.
“If the commission doesn’t act on the $800 million, if they don’t act on the right cases, if the commission does not act on looking [into whether customers] have been overcharged, then our [state Senate] Business and Commerce Committee will be given subpoena power to get the answers,” Patrick said.
“I want to know about that $800 million. I want to know why it was signed … I want to know why it was overturned,” he continued. “If the PUC allows CenterPoint to get away and try to PR their way through this, that will show the commission is not accountable.”
As lieutenant governor, Patrick controls the Senate’s agenda. Two of the PUC’s commissioners, Chairman Thomas Gleeson and Courtney Hjaltman, have not yet been confirmed by that legislative body.
“I know how personal this is to you,” Gleeson told Patrick when he wrapped up his comments. “Thank you for your leadership, and I know you’ll continue to hold this commission and everyone accountable to make sure we get the right results.”
About six hours after the hearing began and some 30 local residents had complained about CenterPoint, Wells took the stand and “personally” apologized to those still present.
“The number of outages [was] too high, the … outages were too long, and our communications did not meet your expectations,” he said. The CEO said CenterPoint has not been overcharging customers and frequently earned less than it could have.
Darin Carroll, CenterPoint’s senior vice president of operations, provided an update on the utility’s Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative to better prepare for the next major storm or hurricane. CenterPoint expects to spend about $550 million during the plan’s current phase on 25,000 poles that can withstand extreme winds and undergrounding 400 miles of lines, among other items.
The company plans to invest $5 billion in the Houston system between 2026 and 2028. It will file a long-term plan by Jan. 31.
The PUC also discussed best practices with industry veterans of previous hurricanes, including two former Florida Power & Light employees, and representatives from the Edison Electric Institute and the Southeastern Electric Exchange. Florida has been held up as a positive example of grid hardening following eight major storms in two years.
The commission will continue to take customer feedback through Oct. 9. It will file its report and recommendations for changes to Gov. Greg Abbott and the legislature by Dec. 1.
“We heard loud and clear that you expect better from your electric utility, and we plan to use your feedback to ensure Houston-area utilities are prepared the next time extreme weather hits,” Gleeson said after the hearing in a statement.
