Houston – May 20, 2024 – As of 6 p.m. CT, CenterPoint Energy has restored nearly 750,000 customers who were impacted by the sudden severe weather event on May 16, 2024, that included Category 2 Hurricane-like winds and tornadoes. The company announced it has posted an enhanced outage map on its website with address search capabilities for more detailed customer restoration information. It can be found at www.centerpointenergy.com/OutageTracker.
- Enhanced outage map with address search capabilities now available for more detailed customer restoration information
- Company on track for approximately 85% of customer outages restored this evening
- Crews working around-the-clock in heavily damaged areas to address difficult restorations as safely as possible
“Houston and surrounding communities are no strangers to devastating natural disasters. The rapid speed at which the May 16 storm struck and the high intensity of the winds represents one of the most extraordinary severe weather events that we have ever experienced," said Lynnae Wilson, Senior Vice President, Electric Business. “We understand that it is a privilege to serve our customers and our communities, and we fully appreciate that our customers rely on our services, especially during times of higher temperatures and humidity across our area. We are focused on working around-the-clock until every last impacted customer has their lights and air conditioning back on."
Wilson said, “We continue to bring all necessary resources to bear across our service territory and are utilizing seven temporary mobile generation units to serve some cooling centers, first responder locations, healthcare facilities, schools and senior living facilities. For our customers who have been without power since last Thursday evening, we will get to your location, address any issues with our equipment that are impacting your restoration, such as equipment buried under multiple downed trees, large limbs, heavy debris and fences, and restore your service as quickly and safely as possible."
Restoration continues for the approximately 170,000 customers who are currently without power. CenterPoint remains confident in its expectations that restoration of these customers will be substantially complete by the evening of Wednesday, May 22. CenterPoint continues to work at a safe and urgent pace, but crews are encountering areas of significant damage accompanied by challenging worksite conditions leading to difficult restorations. These locations include, but are not limited to, parts of Bellaire, Spring Branch, the Heights, Lazybrook/Timbergrove, and Cottage Grove.
As the company gets further into the recovery process, customers must check for equipment damage to ensure they can receive service as soon as the system is energized. This will prevent further delays to restoration. Specifically, customers should check their weatherhead, the point where power enters the home through an electric service drop, which is often a pipe located on the side of the residence or building. If the weatherhead is damaged, we cannot safely restore service to the home until a licensed electrician has made the necessary repairs. Customers who are served by an underground service will not have a weatherhead, but there may still be damage to their equipment that could require servicing.
CenterPoint has been working closely with school districts across its service territory to restore service to their schools and facilities. The company has energized approximately 50 schools since yesterday, including schools in the Aldine, Cypress-Fairbanks, Houston, Humble, Katy and Spring Branch school districts.
For the latest information on power outages:
