AUSTIN, Texas — During a Public Utility Commission hearing on power restoration Thursday, executives with the companies that serve Southeast Texas got feedback on how they handled Hurricane Beryl and its massive power outages.
CenterPoint, Entergy and Texas-New Mexico Power provided updates on how they prepared for the hurricane, what kind of damage they're dealing with and when power will be restored.
CenterPoint said it could be next week or later for 500,000 customers. As of Thursday at 8 p.m., there were still more than 923,000 customers without power.
Part of the frustration with the millions of people who lost power when the Category 1 storm slammed the Greater Houston area was the lack of information or updates and the inaccurate restoration maps.
PUC Chairman Thomas Gleeson advised CenterPoint to improve communications with customers to rebuild trust.
"The public expects more communication, more frequent communication, different modes of communication. I think it's incumbent on all of that as we look at the way we communicate going forward," Gleeson said.
Gleeson reminded CenterPoint that their job is far from over when all power is finally restored.
"I would strenuously urge you all, once everything is restored, to get out in the community whether that's town halls, talk to customers about what happened, ways you can improve," Gleeson said. "Get feedback from them about their view on what can be improved, and I think that will make the next time there's a storm, make this go a lot better."
CenterPoint said it would follow up with how it intends to communicate more effectively with customers when it submits its after-action report to the PUC.
The widespread power problems are also expected to come up when Texas lawmakers meet in January.